Budapest will once again become a meeting point for leading classical musicians and emerging international talent as the MiraTone Festival returns for its eighth edition from 22 to 30 August 2026. Founded by violinist Miranda Liu, the nine-day festival and academy will bring together acclaimed performers, young musicians and audiences for concerts, masterclasses and intensive chamber music work across the Hungarian capital.
Over the past eight years, MiraTone has developed into a distinctive fixture on Central Europe’s classical music calendar. Its combination of high-level performance, international education and close collaboration between established artists and younger musicians has also earned recognition from the European Festivals Association, which has awarded the event its EFFE Label on three occasions.
MiraTone Festival brings international artists to Budapest
The 2026 edition will feature what organisers describe as the festival’s most ambitious concert programme to date, with 12 major concerts and music by 27 composers.
Among this year’s guest artists are violinists Miranda Liu, Daniel Rumler, Igor Karško and Andrii Murza; violist Tomáš Krejbich; violinist and violist Haruka Nagao; cellists Bartosz Koziak and Tomáš Jamník; and pianists László Borbély, François Dumont, Krzysztof Książek and Angela Draghicescu.
The line-up also includes flautist Adriana Ferreira and clarinettists Csaba Pálfi and Sérgio Pires, alongside the V4 String Quartet.
The quartet’s name refers to the Visegrad Four – Hungary, Poland, Czechia and Slovakia – a Central European cooperation group whose cultural connections form an important part of the ensemble’s identity.
Artists appearing at this year’s MiraTone Festival represent Hungary, France, Portugal, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, Japan, Ukraine, Switzerland and the United States.
One of the most notable debuts will be that of internationally acclaimed French pianist François Dumont, who will perform in Hungary for the first time. Portuguese clarinettist Sérgio Pires, principal clarinet of the London Symphony Orchestra, will also make his first MiraTone appearance.
Mozart, Kurtág and major chamber music works
The festival opens on 22 August at the FUGA Budapest Center for Architecture, where the V4 String Quartet will perform works by Beethoven.
This year’s programme will give particular attention to the 270th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birth and the centenary of Hungarian composer György Kurtág, one of the most influential figures in contemporary European music.
Audiences can also expect some of the chamber repertoire’s best-known works, including Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata, Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A major and Maurice Ravel’s Piano Trio.
Concerts will be held at FUGA and the French Institute in Budapest, placing the festival in two of the city’s established cultural venues.
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An intense festival built around collaboration
For founder and artistic director Miranda Liu, the festival’s character comes from the intensity of its schedule and the unusually close interaction between performers and students.
“MiraTone is special because it is incredibly intense,” Liu said. “The artists give masterclasses, rehearse, and play chamber music from morning until evening, and then give concerts night after night.”
She added that the demanding schedule contributes to what she described as an inspiring and positive atmosphere, with returning participants, international encounters and shared learning experiences becoming a defining part of the event.
That educational role remains central to the MiraTone Festival. The 2026 academy is fully booked, with 57 participants from 17 countries joining its masterclasses.
Students will receive solo, chamber music and orchestral training while also gaining performance experience. Young musicians will appear in the MiraTone Young Artists concert series at several Budapest venues during the festival.
Further information about the academy is available on the official MiraTone Festival website.
Tickets for the 2026 MiraTone Festival
Tickets are available with discounts of up to 30%, without service fees, through the official MiraTone ticketing page while discounted allocations remain available.
Organisers recommend booking early, as several MiraTone concerts have sold out in previous years.
With its combination of internationally recognised performers, ambitious chamber music programming and an academy bringing together young musicians from 17 countries, the 2026 MiraTone Festival is set to reinforce Budapest’s role as an important meeting place for classical music in Central Europe.
The media partners of the MiraTone Festival are Daily News Hungary and Helló Magyar.
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