Baku International Arts Festival Will Bring Together World-Class Artists to the Capital of Azerbaijan

Baku, Azerbaijan, October 28th, 2026, FinanceWire

The second Baku International Arts Festival (BIAF) opens today and will run until Nov. 8, 2026

BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 28, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- Supported by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Baku International Arts Festival (BIAF) spans dance, drama, music and film across more than 20 events — bringing together artists and ensembles from Azerbaijan, the United Kingdom, Israel, Canada, Monaco, Russia, the United States, France and other nations.

This year's programme places special emphasis on collaboration between internationally renowned artists and Azerbaijani performers and institutions, including the Baku Choreography Academy, the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Baku Music Academy, and the Azerbaijan State Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. Venues include the Muslim Magomayev State Philharmonic Hall, the Azerbaijan National Drama Theatre, the Heydar Aliyev Center, the Azerbaijan State Musical Theatre, Nizami Cinema Center, YARAT Contemporary Art Space, Baku Book Center, Stone Chronicle Museum, Gazelli Art House and the Heydar Aliyev Palace.

BIAF opens on Oct. 28 at the Philharmonic Hall with a concert marking the 120th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich, whose life and legacy remain closely tied to Azerbaijan and directly shaped its national school of composition. His Concerto No. 1 for Piano, Trumpet and Orchestra, premiered on this same stage by the composer in 1934, will be performed by Lukas Geniušas, grandson of the celebrated Shostakovich interpreter Vera Gornostaeva, and Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth, with the Baku State Chamber Orchestra and the BIAF Festival Orchestra under Baku-born violinist and conductor Dmitry Sitkovetsky.

On Oct. 30, South African artist William Kentridge's multimedia work, "Oh To Believe in Another World," brings a live visual interpretation to Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10, a work whose musical themes encode the composer's secret declaration of affection for his Baku student, pianist and composer Elmira Nazirova. Sitkovetsky conducts the Festival Orchestra, and the programme continues with Fikret Amirov and Nazirova's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra on Arabian Themes, performed by Farhad Badalbeyli, Rector of the Baku Music Academy and a personal acquaintance of both composers.

On Nov. 4, the Heydar Aliyev Center hosts violinist David Garrett, the Juilliard-trained "Paganini of pop," presenting his Baku premiere of "Millennium Symphony," a symphonic reimagining of the past 25 years' biggest hits. The festival closes on Nov. 8 at the Philharmonic with two-time Grammy winner Maxim Vengerov, one of the world's most sought-after violinists.

The theatre opens with Lev Dodin's acclaimed staging of Chekhov's "The Seagull," from the Maly Drama Theatre — Theatre of Europe (St Petersburg), on Oct. 29–30 at the Musical Theatre. On Nov. 1–2, Tel Aviv's Gesher Theatre presents Dmitry Krymov's "Bloody Mary," a free, image-driven response to Schiller's "Mary Stuart." On Nov. 3–4, the Heydar Aliyev Center welcomes the Rezo Gabriadze Marionette Theatre's "Alfred and Violetta," a reworking of "La Dame aux Camélias" relocated to 1990s Tbilisi, completed by director Leo Gabriadze after his father's death in 2021.

The dance programme opens Oct. 31–Nov. 1 with "Thikra: Night of Remembering" at the National Drama Theatre, choreographed by Akram Khan with visual design by Saudi artist Manal AlDowayan, a piece rooted in ritual remembrance that premiered at AlUla's Wadi AlFann in 2025. On Nov. 5–6, choreographer Shahar Binyamini, a Batsheva alumnus who works with the Paris Opera Ballet and La Scala, presents "New Earth" and "Bolero X" with his House of Dance Company; as part of the festival's mentorship strand, Binyamini is also training and integrating dancers from the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre and the Baku Choreography Academy into the production.

English National Ballet makes its Baku debut on Nov. 6–7 at the Musical Theatre with "Masters in Motion: Forsythe/Pite," pairing Crystal Pite's "Body and Soul (Part 1)" with William Forsythe's "Playlist (EP)." On Nov. 7, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, heirs to Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, bring their Baku premiere of Jean-Christophe Maillot's "LAC" to the Heydar Aliyev Palace, a psychologically charged reimagining of "Swan Lake" marking 150 years since Tchaikovsky's original.

The parallel programme includes a rare glimpse of work in progress from choreographer Sharon Eyal on Nov. 1, and Romeo Castellucci and Scott Gibbons' sound-based piece "To Carthage Then I Came" at the Museum of Stone Chronicle on Nov. 6–7, restaged for the former power station after its Brussels premiere. Public talks bring audiences together with Akram Khan, Manal AlDowayan, Lev Dodin and others, including historian Peter Frankopan, author of the bestselling "The Silk Roads," in a conversation on Baku's renewed place at the crossroads of world culture.

BIAF's second edition follows a successful debut in 2025, which presented more than 20 events and 100 artists from Azerbaijan, Austria, the UK, Germany, Israel, Spain, Canada, China, the US, France, Uzbekistan and beyond, including works by Robert Lepage, Guillaume Côté, Sharon Eyal, Yang Liping, Rimas Tuminas and Daniele Finzi Pasca. Modelled on the world's leading festival platforms, BIAF positions Baku, a historic crossroads of the Silk Road, as a modern, open, multi-genre cultural capital bridging East and West.

About Baku International Arts Festival (BIAF)

The full BIAF 2026 programme and tickets are available at biaf.az. To discover more of Azerbaijan’s cultural heritage and travel experiences, visit azerbaijan.travel and follow Experience Azerbaijan on Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube. #experienceazerbaijan  

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SOURCE: Baku International Arts Festival (BIAF)

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