The Schütz Festival is now in its 40th year and will take place from 6-8 October. But as a preamble, an Early Music Conference is also planned for 16-24 September. The conference will take participants on a musical journey through the history of the city.

The concerts begin on 16 September with Zelenka’s Missa votiva performed by the Dresdner Kammerchor and Dresdner Barockorchester conducted by Jörg Genslein. The program "Die Dresdner Stadtmusik" is scheduled for 19 September with the Dresdner Kreuzchor conducted by Roderich Kreile. The lutenist Lee Santana will present a Leopold Weiss program on 20 September. "Dresden during the Renaissance" will be presented on 21 September; and the Ensemble Alte Musik Dresden conducted by Matthias Jungon will perform Schütz’s Psalmen Davids on 24 September.

For its part, the three-day Heinrich Schütz Festival will take place in two different localities, Weibenfelds and Bad Küstritz.

The first on 6 October is a program of music in the times of Christian IV of Denmark by the tenor Henning Klocke with the Hamburger Ratsmusik; the second, on 7 October, features music by Scheidt, Stolle, Pohle and Krieger.

Finally, the Psalmen Davids program performed on 24 September will be repeated on 8 October. The Bad Küstritz program begins on 6 October with Schütz’s Geistliche Chormusik of 1648 performed by the Dresdner Kammerchor conducted by Jörg Genslein. And on 8 October the Batzdorfer Hofkapelle will perform a programme consisting of music by Monteverdi, Isaac and Biber.