FEL!X Historical Performance Practice Festival of the Cologne Philharmonic

Since 2019, the Kölner Philharmonie has opened the current season with the FEL!X festival: internationally renowned artists perform music from the 12th century to the present day using historical performance practice at the Kölner Philharmonie and other venues in the heart of Cologne. The festival is named after the German composer and pianist Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. His interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach's "St Matthew Passion" laid the foundation for historical performance practice.

After focusing on France (2022) and England (2023), the edition from 27 August to 1 September turned its attention to the Flanders region. This was reflected not only in the choice of repertoire, but also in the performers, and some of the programmes have been curated exclusively for FEL!X 2024: the Huelgas Ensemble performed the final choreographed concert, which is inspired by the Flemish landscape, in front of the entire auditorium of the Kölner Philharmonie. Short concerts by young up-and-coming artists have also been specially conceived for FEL!X 2024 and took place after the evening concerts at special venues such as the Baptistery and the Stiftersaal of the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne. The FELIX urban! Day on 31 August offered performances by young artists in various smaller venues and open-air events around the Kölner Philharmonie.

In addition to attending the festival concerts in Cologne, the international participants had time to exchange ideas with the artistic director and the team of the Kölner Philharmonie as well as the opportunity to get to know other important institutions and players in the field of early music in Cologne.