Arrive in Valletta on suggested flights and make your way to the hotel. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including travel insurance (a condition of travel), private hotel transfer, accommodation before or after the tour and a room category upgrade. 

In the late-afternoon, join your tour leader Andy Bromberger and fellow travellers for a welcome briefing followed by dinner. 

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Valletta Baroque Festival
Since its launch in 2013, the Valletta Baroque Festival has treated audiences to a unique event featuring some of the best soloists and ensembles in the Baroque music scene. Spanning over three weeks, the festival offers a quintessential experience of all that is Baroque as it takes place in exquisite venues such as Teatru Manoel, one of the oldest working theatres in Europe, Palazzo Parisio, St John’s Co-Cathedral and other authentic Baroque venues and buildings for which Valletta is renowned.

Begin your exploration of Valletta with a walking tour of the city. Visit the Upper Barrakka Gardens for a panoramic view across the Grand Harbour, the only natural harbour in the Mediterranean. The Three Cities of Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua set a Baroque backdrop to the terraced gardens that were originally built as an exercise ground for the Knights of the Langue of Italy. Then, enjoy a guided visit of the oratory of the St John’s Co-Cathedral to admire the structure as an epitome of Baroque design and the only remaining signed Caravaggio painting, The Beheading of St John the Baptist.

After lunch at a local restaurant, the afternoon is at leisure. 

In the evening, attend the first of six performances at the Valletta Baroque Festival. Hear The Abos Project & Consort perform works by Couperin, Mondonville, Avondano, Haydn and Ferreira, under the baton of Bruno Procopio. 

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Begin the day with a talk by Andy on the coming days’ performances. Then, enjoy Rameau’s rarely performed Pièces de clavecin en concert by harpsichordist Bruno Procopio. Published in 1741, they are Rameau’s only chamber music compositions. 

After dinner, indulge in a feast of string concertos, blending Vivaldi’s vibrant pieces with Bach’s masterful Brandenburg Concertos presented by the fascinating Concerto de’ Cavalieri at Valletta’s Teatru Manoel. 

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After a talk by Andy, attend a midday performance at the superb 18th-century Palazzo Parisio in Naxxar. Now the beloved home of the prominent, long-established and ennobled Scicluna family, in its time it has been the residence of the most popular Grand Master of the Knights of St John (the ‘Knights of Malta’) and of Sicilian and Maltese nobility. The ‘Bach & L’Italie’ recital is performed by talented young harpsichordist Justin Taylor. 

Enjoy lunch in the ancient maritime city of Birgu (also referred to as Vittoriosa) before returning to the hotel. 

This evening’s performance features the Concerto de’ Cavalieri alongside rising Venezuelan sopranist Samuel Mariño, who interprets 18th-century opera masterpieces. 

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Today, travel to the charming city of Rabat. View the impressive picture gallery of the Wignacourt Museum, displaying works by renowned Baroque master Mattia Preti. Venture down to St Paul’s Grotto, one of the earliest places of Christian worship on the island and visit the adjacent catacombs. 

Continue to the walled city of Mdina, which served as the capital of Malta from antiquity to the Middle Ages. Walk through the winding streets of the ancient capital and visit the majestic Cathedral of St Paul, a stunning example of Baroque architecture and the spiritual heart of the island. 

Return to Valletta in the mid-afternoon before an evening performance by living legend William Christie and his ensemble Les Arts Florissants, celebrating Baroque masterpieces by various French composers. 

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In the morning, transfer to Malta Airport for a flight to Munich (flight included in tour price). 

From Munich, transfer by coach to Salzburg, arriving in the late-afternoon. Located amongst the lakes and mountains of the Salzkammergut, Salzburg is dominated by the fortress of Hohensalzburg. The city is renowned not only as the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but also for its splendid Renaissance architecture and Baroque courtyards. 

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Mozart Week
Salzburg’s renowned winter classical music festival was first held in 1956 and has since become a highlight on the international concert calendar for Mozart lovers and classical music fans. Organised by the International Mozarteum Foundation each January around Mozart’s birthday (27 January), the Mozart Week features opera productions as well as orchestral, chamber music and soloist concerts. Under the artistic direction of Rolando Villazón, the 2025 festival will feature internationally acclaimed orchestras and ensembles such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Camerata Salzburg and Hagen Quartet, and world-renowned soloists including pianists Fazıl Say and Tsotne Zedginidze, violinist Lisa Batiashvili and soprano Sonya Yoncheva.

After a talk by Andy, hear remarkable Turkish pianist Fazıl Say perform Bach’s Goldberg Variations at the Mozarteum. 

PROGRAM:
Bach – Goldberg Variations
Mozart – Fantasy in D minor for piano
Fazil Say – Piano Sonata, Op. 99, Yeni hayat (‘New Life’)

This afternoon, attend a new production of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo at the Haus für Mozart. Based on the hugely successful Semperoper Dresden’s 2023 production by young Austrian director and puppeteer Nikolaus Habjan, the cast features tenor Rolando Villazón in the title role and is accompanied by Christina Pluhar and her period-instrument ensemble L’Arpeggiata. 

This evening, return to the Mozarteum for a performance by esteemed Spanish conductor Jordi Savall and his ensemble Le Concert des Nations. 

PROGRAM:
Mozart – Mass in C minor (world premiere of Jordi Savall and Luca Guglielmi’s version) 

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Following a pre-performance talk by Andy, explore the DomQuartier museum complex, which epitomises Salzburg’s glorious Baroque centre including the cathedral arches, residences, Cathedral Square and the Long Gallery. 

The afternoon is free until tonight’s concert by the Collegium Vocale Gent under Philippe Herreweghe with singers Dorothee Mields (soprano), Alex Potter (alto), Guy Cutting (tenor) and Johannes Kammler (bass) exploring the world of Bach’s cantatas. 

PROGRAM:
Bach – Cantata Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben
Bach – Cantata Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz
Bach – Cantata Die Elenden sollen essen

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The morning is at leisure to further explore Salzburg at your own pace. 

In the afternoon, enjoy a concert by the illustrious Salzburg-based Hagen Quartet. 

PROGRAM:
Bach – From Die Kunst der Fuge 
Haydn – String Quartet in G major, Op. 54 No. 1
Mozart – Quartet in G minor for two violins, viola and violoncello 

Tonight, under François Leleux, the Camerata Salzburg and violinist Lisa Batiashvili present a program titled ‘Bach to the Future’, covering the whole period from the Baroque to the present day and juxtaposing music by the great Baroque master with the world premiere of a new piece by 15-year-old prodigious Georgian pianist and composer Tsotne Zedginidze.

PROGRAM:
Mozart – Symphony No. 1 in E flat major
Tsotne Zedginidze – Violin Sonata
Tsotne Zedginidze – Symphony No. 1 (world premiere commissioned by the International Mozarteum Foundation)
Bach – Concerto for oboe, violin, strings and basso continuo based on the concerto for two harpsichords in C minor
Mozart – Symphony No. 41 in C major, Jupiter

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After a talk by Andy, explore the Residence, where Mozart lived until 1780 and composed many of his masterpieces. Continue with a private tour of the Autograph Vault, located in the basement of the Mozart Residence, exhibiting more than half of all known documents associated with Mozart’s family, including around 200 of Mozart’s original letters. 

In the evening, hear the prestigious Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Thomas Guggeis joined by acclaimed Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva at the Grosses Festspielhaus. 

PROGRAM:
Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major
Händel – Cleopatra’s arias from Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Se pietà di me non senti, Non disperar, chi sà and Piangerò la sorte mia
Mozart – Adagio and Fugue in C minor
Mozart – Symphony No. 40 in G minor (2nd version) 

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This morning, depart Salzburg and travel east through Austria while experiencing a taste of a European winter surrounded by snow-capped mountains. 

Arrive in Vienna in the afternoon. The remainder of the day is at leisure. 

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Begin the morning with a talk by Andy. Then, enjoy a private tour of Jarosinski & Vaugoin, one of the world’s oldest existing silversmiths, renowned for the high quality of its hand-manufactured sterling silver flatware. The Viennese company was founded in 1847 and has remained a family business for six generations. 

Tonight, attend a performance featuring the Cappella Andrea Barca led by acclaimed conductor by Sir András Schiff (also at the piano) at the Wiener Konzerthaus. 

PROGRAM:
Mozart – Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 9 in E-flat major, Jeunehomme
Schubert – Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major
Mozart – Concerto for piano and orchestra in B-flat major
Mozart – Piano Sonata No. 15 in F major, 2^nd movement (encore)

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This morning, enjoy a private tour of the Liechtenstein City Palace, the first major building built during the High Baroque age in Vienna and still owned today by the royal family of Liechtenstein. The palace displays exquisite Baroque stucco ceilings, opulent neo-Rococo interiors and part of the private collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein. 

After a special farewell lunch, the remainder of the afternoon is at leisure. 

In the evening, attend the final performance of the tour at the prestigious Vienna State Opera – Mozart’s The Magic Flute under esteemed American conductor Franz Welser-Möst.  

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Tour arrangements conclude after breakfast. 

If you are returning home today, make your way to Vienna Airport for suggested flights to Australia or New Zealand. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including any additional nights’ accommodation either before or after the tour and travel insurance (a condition of travel). 

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