What Remains Is Deep Gratitude – Farewell to Herbert Blomstedt

For Herbert Blomstedt, time seemed somehow to pass differently – or so one might have thought over the years. Year after year, concert after concert, his interpretations touched us ever more deeply, and our encounters with him became ever more meaningful. For this endlessly curious, extraordinarily gifted and deeply devout conductor, every concert was an act of worship. Now, just a few months before his 100th birthday, Herbert Blomstedt has reached the end of his life's journey. With profound gratitude, we remember how tirelessly he devoted himself to music, seemingly ageless, with unwavering discipline and the sheer joy of music-making. Several times each season, this dedication brought him back to Bamberg, to an orchestra with which he had shared a close bond for almost 50 years, latterly as Conductor Laureate. Together, they performed more than 200 concerts in over 50 cities.

Alongside people and musical scores, books held a particularly special place in Herbert Blomstedt's life. He often arrived in Bamberg, a city with a thousand years of history, carrying a large, empty suitcase. By the time he left, it would invariably be full, following visits to the city's antiquarian bookshops between rehearsals and concerts. Even well into his later years, he would happily lift the suitcase into a car or onto the baggage conveyor belt at the airport himself.

There was so much to learn from Herbert Blomstedt, far beyond music. Literature, art history, Baroque poetry, the latest research in neuroscience – hardly any subject was too remote for him to explore with curiosity and intellectual depth. His memory was like an infinite, perfectly organised archive, from which he could retrieve precisely the right information at any moment. The same was true of the people he met: he never forgot their names or personal stories, even if decades had passed since their last encounter. A genuine interest in others was, for him, the foundation of making music together, and he gave everyone he spoke to his undivided attention.

Herbert Blomstedt's gentle sense of humour was legendary. When we performed Anton Bruckner's Fifth Symphony with him at St Florian Abbey Basilica to celebrate his 90th birthday, he returned to the rehearsal after his customary afternoon nap, smiling as he told the orchestra that he had just been resting in Bruckner's bed – beneath the composer's death mask, which hangs on the wall there. "But I managed to resurrect myself just in time," he said, before giving the downbeat.

Now Herbert Blomstedt has finally found his rest. We shall miss him.

November 5, 2026

Ticket Sales 2026/27 season

You can purchase individual tickets for the current 2026/27 season in our shop in Bamberg and online.

This way to our >>Webshop.

These services are available in our ticket shop

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Bamberg Symphony Shop
Lange Str. 30
96047 Bamberg
GERMANY
Phone + 49 951 - 99 39 10 99
ticket[at]bamberger-symphoniker.de
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