St. Vitus Cathedral Organ Evenings 2026

Name: St. Vitus Cathedral Organ Evenings 2026
Start: 2026-06-30T12:00:01+02:00
End: 2026-09-01T23:59:00+02:00
Location: Katedrála sv. Víta

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 · 12:00 — Tue, 1 Sep 23:59

St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague

festival culture outdoor

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From June 30 to September 1, 2026, St. Vitus Cathedral on Prague Castle will host the fifteenth edition of the international organ festival "St. Vitus Cathedral Organ Evenings".

The festival brings leading organ artists from the Czech Republic and abroad to the cathedral each year. In 2026, organists from the Czech Republic, USA, Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria will perform. The programme will be expanded with a concert featuring a symphony orchestra and a special evening with a guest soloist – a French horn player.

The jubilee fifteenth edition will feature ten concert evenings in total, and for the very first time, the long-awaited new cathedral organ will be heard.

About the festival: St. Vitus Cathedral Organ Evenings 2026

15. ročník

festival year

od 2011

festival held annually since

concert evenings in the 2026 season

6 000 píšťal, 4 manuály, 93 rejstříků

parameters of the new organs by Gerhard Grenzing

Good to know

Lasts 10 Tuesday evenings (30.6. - 1.9. 2026)
Admission 450-600 Kč (depending on sector)
All concerts start at 19:00
Tickets on presale via GoOut.net
Cathedral capacity limited by safety regulations
Accessibility: metro A (Malostranská or Hradčanská) + on foot
Non-commercial festival; no food or stalls in the cathedral

What's new

2026-06
The new organs of St. Vitus Cathedral were solemnly inaugurated on June 15, 2026 during a holy mass; the St. Vitus Organ Evenings festival will be the first public cycle in which the new instrument will be heard regularly.
2026-06
The Prague newspaper reported that tickets for the first June concert (Cameron Carpenter) are still available for 450 or 600 CZK depending on the sector.
2026-04
A press release from April 2026 confirmed that the new organs from the workshop of Spanish organ builder Gerhard Grenzing were created with the assistance of thousands of donors with a total collection exceeding 135 million crowns.
2026-01
GoOut published the complete program of the 15th edition with ten Tuesday evenings from June 30 to September 1, 2026 and launched ticket pre-sales.

Line-up

Ondřej Valenta a Orchestr Symphony Prague 19:00
Willibald Guggenmos 19:00
Michaela Káčerková & Ondřej Vrabec 19:00
Pavel Černý 19:00
Michal Novenko & Jiří Houdek 19:00
Markéta Fassati a Ondřej Valenta 19:00
Konstantin Reymaier 19:00

About: Cameron Carpenter

The American organist who rewrote the rulebook - Cameron Carpenter was the first of his kind nominated for a Grammy, and he travels the world's concert stages with his own custom-built digital organ. His programs move freely between Bach, Mussorgsky, Franck and his own transcriptions, often with live improvisation thrown in.

46 000+

following on Facebook

classic hits (album All You Need Is Bach)

What's new

2026-05
In May 2026, Carpenter performed at the Berlin Philharmonic with Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin under the baton of Leonard Slatkin - the program included Barber's Toccata festiva for organ and orchestra; the concert was broadcast on Deutschlandfunk Kultur.
2026-01
The agency Opus 3 Artists announced representation of Carpenter for North America.
2022
For the Decca label, he released a recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations together with his own transcription of Hanson's Symphony No. 2.

Tour

BerlinHoustonKalamazooQuébec CityLa JollaCharlotteHeilbronnLuxembourgLiepājaGdańskBonnAtlanta

Tracks

Revolutionarydebut album (2008, Telarc), first organ Grammy nomination in history

All You Need Is Bachalbum on Sony Classical, debuted at number 1 on classical charts

Rachmaninoff: Paganini Variations / Poulenc: Organ ConcertoSony Classical 2019 with Konzerthausorchester Berlin, awarded Opus Klassik 2020

Goldberg Variations (J. S. Bach)Decca album 2022, recorded at Konzerthaus Berlin

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an ExhibitionCarpenter's own transcription for organ, permanent part of his recital programs

About: Ben van Oosten

Dutch organist Ben van Oosten is a globally recognised authority on French symphonic organ music, whose complete-works recordings of Widor, Vierne and Dupré on the MD+G label are considered benchmark interpretations. Since 1990 he has served as titular organist of the Grote Kerk in The Hague, where he also directs the annual International Organ Festival.

complete recordings of organ works (Widor, Vierne, Dupré, Franck) for the MD+G label

volumes of the complete organ work of Marcel Dupré (recordings 2000-2010)

volumes of the complete organ work of Charles-Marie Widor (recordings 1993-1998)

50+

years of concert career (debut 1970)

What's new

2021-09
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his work as a concert organist, Ben van Oosten received the Stadspenning - an honorary distinction of The Hague.
2021-07
Ben van Oosten concluded 27 years of teaching as principal professor of organ at Codarts (Rotterdam Conservatory), where he trained numerous domestic and international students.
2024-07
In July 2024, Ben van Oosten performed at the international concert series Bach op Zondag at Grote Kerk in Breda with a program dedicated to Leipzig.

Tracks

Widor: Complete Organ Works (vol. 1-7)reference recording of Widor's complete organ works for MD+G, 1993-1998

Dupré: Complete Works for Organ (vol. 1-12)complete organ works of Dupré, recorded 2000-2010, awarded Diapason d'Or

Vierne: Complete Organ Workscomplete organ works of Louis Vierne, one of the key recordings in van Osten's discography

Franck: Organ Workscomplete organ works of César Franck recorded on the historic Cavaillé-Coll organ in Rouen

Festival of French Organ Musicselected album of French organ music (Bonnet, Gigout, Dubois, Boëllmann), released 2011

About: Jaroslav Tůma

Born in Prague, Jaroslav Tůma ranks among the leading interpreters of historical keyboard instruments worldwide - equally at home on the organ, harpsichord, clavichord and pianoforte, and celebrated for his live improvisations. A professor at Prague's Academy of Performing Arts, he has released more than sixty solo recordings and performs regularly at festivals across Europe and beyond.

64+

solo recordings (CD)

1990-present

professor AMU Praha

Tour

PrahaBratislavaBorovanyJablonec nad NisouČeský KrumlovKarlovy Vary

Tracks

Goldbergovy variace, BWV 988 (J. S. Bach)recorded in two versions - for harpsichord and for two clavichords

Historické varhany ČechCD series for Supraphon documenting historic organs from the Renaissance to the 20th century

Varhanní improvizace / Má vlastimprovisations on themes from Smetana's symphonic poem, released on Arta Records

Umění fugy, BWV 1080 (J. S. Bach)part of an extensive Bach cycle recorded for Arta Records

36 fug pro klavír (Antonín Rejcha)recording on a historic pianoforte by Anton Walter

St. Vitus Cathedral Organ Evenings 2026

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