Montserrat Abbey hosts Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on 27 September
Published on 09/27/2026 at 08:57 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Montserrat Abbey and the Montserrat Music Festival host Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on 27 September 2026 at the sanctuary in Catalonia, known locally as Monestir de Montserrat. The performance is presented in a Catalan version as a tribute to Pau Casals on the 150th anniversary of his birth.
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony comes to Montserrat on 27 September
The concert is scheduled for 8pm on Sunday 27 September 2026 in the Basilica of Santa Maria. The abbey’s event calendar lists it as part of the Montserrat Music Festival, alongside the regular religious programme for the day.
The performance uses the Catalan version by Joan Maragall. The abbey describes the event as a tribute to Pau Casals, whose 150th anniversary is the reason given for the presentation. The concert is offered free of charge with prior reservation, as stated in the organiser’s concert notice.
The listing remains present in the sanctuary’s current calendar, which identifies the event as the Novena Symphony of Beethoven at Montserrat. A separate calendar entry places the performance in the Basilica of Santa Maria and names the Montserrat Music Festival.
Montserrat Abbey links the concert to a thousand-year setting
The performance takes place within a complex whose history reaches back to 1025. The Government of Catalonia’s heritage service says the monastery was founded on the orders of Abbot Oliba, above a small chapel donated to the Monastery of Ripoll.
The basilica combines Romanesque remains with a Gothic structure and forms the starting point for exploring the sanctuary. The same heritage description records a major nineteenth-century renovation led by architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch. That setting gives the 27 September concert a direct connection with the abbey’s long religious and cultural role, rather than making it a concert elsewhere in the Montserrat region.
The site also contains the Museum of Montserrat, whose collection includes works by artists including Caravaggio, Picasso, Monet, Degas and Dalí. Its library holds more than 250,000 volumes, while the Escolania is described as one of Europe’s oldest boys’ choir schools, documented since the fourteenth century. These institutions place the Beethoven programme within the abbey’s established relationship with music, education and the arts. Further historical details are available from the Catalan heritage service.
Visiting Montserrat Abbey: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The Beethoven concert takes place on 27 September 2026 at 8pm in the Basilica of Santa Maria as part of the Montserrat Music Festival.
- Admission is free with prior reservation. The event listing identifies the basilica as the venue.
- The sanctuary is at Plaça Monestir in Monistrol de Montserrat, Barcelona, and can be reached by road, train or cable car.
- The complex includes the basilica, the Museum of Montserrat, the library and the Escolania, so the concert venue sits within a larger religious and cultural site.
- Spain’s official currency is the euro, and Catalan and Spanish are used locally.
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Frequently asked questions about Montserrat Abbey
When does Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony take place at Montserrat Abbey?
The concert is scheduled for 27 September 2026 at 8pm in the Basilica of Santa Maria.
What is Montserrat Abbey?
Montserrat Abbey is a Benedictine monastery founded in 1025 in Catalonia. It includes the Basilica of Santa Maria, the Museum of Montserrat and the Escolania choir school.
Where is Montserrat Abbey and how do you get there?
The sanctuary is in Monistrol de Montserrat in Barcelona province, Spain. The heritage service lists road, train and cable-car access to the site.
