Where in the world could you find countertenor Andreas Scholl, jazz pianist Chick Corea, an opera by Richard Strauss, the Buena Vista Social Club's Rubén Gonzalez and Ibrahim Ferrer performing Cuban jazz, a fully staged outdoor performance of Orff's Carmina Burana (complete with dancers and real live fireworks), and dozens of other equally fascinating, world-class musical events and performers? That was the scene this past summer (May 26-June 12) at the Dresden Music Festival in Dresden, Germany, a refreshingly uncrowded, open-spaced, proud, and friendly-mannered city that's emerged from war's devastation and 50 years of Soviet control revitalized and warmly welcoming. And among the world's music festivals, Dresden's must rank among the most attractive and creative. Its programming – this year the theme was Bach and Jazz – shows both the vision of its artistic director of the past six years, Michael Hampe, and the adventurous spirit of many of its behind-the-scenes artistic voices. While maintaining a very high standard of performance, it also offers such variety that virtually anyone will find much to enjoy.

For instance, this year offered not only the above-mentioned performances, but also John Eliot Gardiner and his Monteverdi Choir performing Bach, a new production of Handel's opera Xerxes with an international cast accompanied by the period orchestra Les Talens Lyriques, recitals by violinists Andrew Manze, Viktoria Mullova, and Christian Tetzlaff, Rossini's Barber of Seville, Uri Caine's and Jacques Loussier's very different approaches to Bach's Goldberg Variations, and Leonard Bernstein's Mass. Among the festival's attractions are its huge variety of venues – up to 18 – as well as the large number of concerts to choose from – more than 70 during two and one half weeks – and the many open air events that really take advantage of the city's own ambience to enhance the festive atmosphere.

These days you have to look for signs of this city's total destruction 55 years ago in the last months of World War II. Instead, evidence of Dresden's long road to restoration and modernization are now everywhere. Even Dresden's citizens say that they have to keep their eyes open because every week there's a new building, a refurbished historic site, a new shop or hotel. And for many, the city alone will be attraction enough for a serious visit (despite certain inconveniences such as the fact that some businesses, museums, and tourist sites don't accept credit cards). Dresden's historical significance, much of it preserved and highlighted in its museums, churches, and palaces, is remarkable enough. But its importance as one of Europe's premier cultural centers for hundreds of years makes it even more inviting for those interested in music, painting, and other fine arts such as porcelain – or winemaking, one of the region's best-kept secrets!.

The predecessor of today's Festival – and the city does have a long and formidable history of musical celebrations – was known as "Musenfest" (Festival of the Muses). The Electors of Saxony sponsored these yearly events, which involved choral, opera, and ballet performances, and in 1719, under Augustus the Strong, the festival probably reached its peak when an equestrian ballet was performed in the open air courtyard of the Zwinger palace. For the 22 years since its founding, the modern Dresden Music Festival has been steadily building on its illustrious history, incorporating a well-conceived organizational formula with an impressive roster of international artists, and consequently, its audience, which now totals more than 100,000 visitors each year, continues to grow.

The city itself is home to many world-class musical ensembles – the Staatskapelle, the Philharmonic, the Kreuzchor, and the Virtuosi Saxoniae, to name a few – and venues, including the Semper Opera House, the cathedral (which houses one of the world's finest Silbermann organs), and the Zwinger, one of the architectural jewels of the Baroque, a uniquely beautiful, elegantly ornate, and awe-inspiring sandstone palace that has quaintly been described as "petrified music". Perfectly situated along the wide, grassy banks of the Elbe river, Dresden, sometimes referred to as "Germany's Florence", attracted countless numbers of artisans, artists, writers, and musicians to its courts, theatres, churches, and colleges since its beginning as a city in 1206. Famous musicians with ties to Dresden include Heinrich Schütz, Karl Maria von Weber (his house is now a museum), Wagner, who began his career in the city, Robert and Clara Schumann, who lived in Dresden for five years, Richard Strauss, who chose the city for the premieres of several of his operas, Scriabin, and, of course, Johann Sebastian Bach, who both visited and performed in Dresden.

Past festival themes have reflected these associations as well as Dresden's view of itself as a modern, "happening" city: "Mozart's Legacy in Dresden", "Verdi and Wagner in Dresden", "20th Century Opera", "Dance Podium", "Apocalypse", and "Spain". Next year's schedule of events will be announced in September. Stay tuned here for more information. Meanwhile, check out the festival's web site at www.musikfestspiele.com or www.dresdenmusicfestival.com. For information regarding the city of Dresden, go to www.dresden-tourist.de.

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