Here is our pick of the best classical music festivals taking place across Australia and South Africa during 2025.
Don't forget to also check out our useful guides to:
- The UK's best classical music festivals in 2025
- The best classical music festivals in Europe 2025
- The best 2025 classical music festivals in Canada and the USA
- The best music festivals in the Middle East, Malaysia, Japan and Taiwan 2025
Best classical music festivals 2025: Australia
Canberra International Music Festival
Canberra, Australia, 30 April – 4 May
cimf.org.au
Flying the flag of ‘Liberté’, Canberra ’25 cries freedom – whether in a concert that insists ‘The Iron Curtain isn’t soundproof’, or the closing night’s choral conquest of Sibelius’s Finlandia. Finnish-Australian links are celebrated; bagpipes, bombards and Binious salute Philip Glass; and in a nod to transparency, Shock Lines mounts a site-specific journey through Canberra’s Glassworks where, en route, Mozart encounters glass percussion and electronics.
Coriole Music Festival
McLaren Vale, Australia, 17, 18 May
coriolemusicfestival.com
Hunkered down among the rolling vineyards of McLaren Vale, Coriole has been raising a glass to two to the art of chamber music for a quarter of a century. A knife and fork too: choice cuisine nourishes a theme exploring ‘Musical Crossroads’ as Ravel 150 is remembered; a new cello sonata by Richard Mills is swaddled in songs by Richard Strauss; and Unsuk Chin goes head-to-head with Brahms’s Hungarian-gypsy-infused G minor Piano Quartet.
Australian Festival of Chamber Music
Townsville, North Queensland,
25 July – 2 August
afcm.com.au
When it comes to festival venues, the view from Arcadian Surf Club @Alma Bay takes some beating; and what’s not to like about a beach concert on Orpheus-Goolboddi Island, promising soprano Carolyn Sampson framed by whale-watching and a spectacular sunset? Violinist Jack Liebeck – now in his fourth year as artistic director – has assembled a lively cohort of musicians including an Australian String Quartet residency, an al fresco appearance by the Barrier Reef Orchestra, and artists such as classical accordionist extraordinaire James Crabb, clarinettist Michael Collins and digeridoo maestro William Mabo. With an exuberant programme spanning Hildegard of Bingen to arrangements of Abba and Radiohead, Townsville truly tantalises!
Best classical music festivals 2025: South Africa
Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival
Stellenbosch, South Africa, 4-14 July
sicmf.co.za
Its mission unique across the African continent, Stellenbosch notches up a 20th-anniversary celebration with a spring in its step. Public masterclasses are interleaved with guest ensemble concerts, and student performances drawing on some 250 participants augment contributions from the Festival Orchestra. Masterminding it all is pianist and festival founder Nina Schumann.