The International Music Festival Saar was founded in 1989 out of a civic commitment and since then has been an important pillar in the Saarland's cultural landscape as a classical music festival alongside Saarländischer Rundfunk, Staatstheater and theatre and film festivals. Due to the geographical location of the Saarland with its borders to France and Luxembourg, the Saar Music Festival has the opportunity to emphasise the theme of crossing borders at this hinge of European thought.

Whereas up to now the festival has conceptually focused on a musical and cultural kaleidoscope of one country, the new artistic director Bernhard Leonardy refrained from this in 2018 and sees border-crossing in relation to the festival concept in the sense:

- of German-French and large-regional projects
- of increasingly interdisciplinary project formats
- cooperation with the universities based here
- the expansion of music education work and cooperation with schools
- of "art for all" through certain concert formats, conscious selection of atypical concert venues and special rates for low-income earners.
- from "Dare to do something new

Further information at musikfestspielesaar.de