Every year in August, Heidelberg stages its romantic Castle Festival. The Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival founded by the pianist and conductor Justus Frantz in 1986 brings internationally famous musicians to this northernmost state of the Federal Republic every year. It has become extremely popular - a big musical event in a provincial setting. A comparable event is the recently instituted Mecklenburg-Vorpommem Music Summer. Every summer, the Rhinegau Music Festival brings together top-notch soloists and ensembles devoted to both old and new music. The Chorin Music Festival staged in the former Cistercian monastery draws people from near and far to concerts featuring classical music.

Important festivals on the calendars of theater aficionados include the Berlin Theater Encounter, where the best German-language productions are presented each May, and the Ruhr Festival in Recklinghausen, likewise in May, which showcases a classical and modern repertoire catering to a broad audience in the heart of the Ruhr district.