In classical music, Germany is a world leader - Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner are just a handful of the many great German composers. But Germany's musical life is not only taking place in the well over 100 classical music theatres: a wide range of dynamic modern music can be heard at hundreds of jazz clubs, concert halls and one of Germany's countless music festivals. There is the annual "Bach Festival" in Leipzig and more than 60 concerts will be performed at the "Beethoven Festival" in Bonn every year. The "Rheingau Music Festival", one of the biggest classical music festivals in Europe with more than 140 events which take place in romantic castles and palaces on the Rhine. For jazz lovers, the "International Dixieland Festival" in Dresden, the second biggest jazz festival in the world, is not to be missed. Another excellent choice is the the "Duesseldorf Jazz-Rallye" or the great "German Jazz Festival" in Frankfurt as well as the "Jazz Festival" in Hannover. Once a year, music, not horsepower, reigns supreme at the Nuerburgring Formula 1 racetrack. "Rock am Ring" and the sibling event "Rock im Park" are with over 150.000 visitors the two largest open-air events in Europe. And of course, don't forget about the love parade in Berlin.
