Do you ever wish you could linger after a concert and have a relaxed conversation with the musicians? Perhaps tell them how much you admired their playing, or ask them about their interpretation of a particular piece in the programme? It so rarely happens. Players and audience, who minutes earlier have enjoyed transcendent moments together, scatter into the night, that special connection between performer and listener dissolving in the hurry to catch a train, chase that bus or find the car.
Now imagine not only having a single conversation but actually touring with top-flight musicians over several days, moving from location to location, getting to know them after they perform solely for you and your fellow music-lovers. Your shared mode of transport is not an aeroplane or train but a luxury cruise ship equipped with a concert space so you can hear music at sea as well as on shore. If you can envisage all those things then you have conjured exactly what the Austrian cultural travel company MS6 is offering next summer in an adventure entitled Sea & Music.
Your renowned travelling companions will be violinist Daniel Hope, baritone Thomas Hampson, pianist Gabriela Montero, sopranos Christiane Karg and Kristine Opolais, tenor Hiroaki Fueda, harpist Xavier de Maistre, cellist Chu Yi-Bing and La Philharmonica, an ensemble made up of six female members of the Vienna Philharmonic. That’s quite a crew…
“In 2024, I had the privilege of participating in Sea & Music,” Daniel Hope says, “highlighted by a wonderful concert at the Oslo Opera House. I was deeply impressed by the atmosphere on board and the opportunity to engage with the cruise guests – it was a truly unique artistic experience that I greatly appreciated. I am delighted to have been invited again for 2026.” Hope appears alongside Thomas Hampson and Gabriela Montero, both at sea and on land, in venues near Portofino and in Ajaccio, Corsica – among the journey’s many stopping points in June and July. “To perform alongside Thomas and Gabriela, in such exceptional settings, will undoubtedly be a highlight – both for the audience and for us as artists.”
The 64,000-ton Explora I is an opulent ‘pure suite’ ship, where about 500 passengers reside not in cabins but spacious suites which feature their own private terraces. Those on board can enjoy six separate restaurants, 12 bars and lounges, an art gallery, a casino and selected shops. All drinks and hot beverages are included. And if all those luxuries make you feel a little listless, there is a wide range of fitness equipment available to pep you up and keep you trim, including three outdoor pools and one indoor pool – complete with a retractable glass roof.
Explora I sets sail from Barcelona on 22nd June next year on a Mediterranean voyage that offers a combination of high-quality classical music both onboard ship and at impressive destinations, calling at Cannes, Portofino, Sardinia, Corsica, and with trips into Florence and Lucca along the way, before arriving at Civitavecchia for Rome. Passengers can choose to return home from Rome or stay aboard for ‘the encore’ and sail on via Naples and Capri, Calvi in Corsica, Nice, Marseilles, Menorca and back to Barcelona, making 15 days in all.
MS6 is a family-owned business that aims to offer a particularly personal service. The company’s CEO Michaela Schaubach is married to its marketing director Florian Schaubach. She is the daughter of Michael Springer, who established the company in 1998, naming it MS6 after the six members of his family who share the initial MS. His aim was to bring music lovers and musicians together in exceptional places. One day a friend suggested he take the Vienna Philharmonic on a cruise. They’ll never agree, he thought – but they did, and so launched a series of voyages of discovery for musicians and audiences that continues today. Over the years, MS6 has worked with many distinguished artists, including members of the Berlin Philharmonic, the pianists Igor Levit, Lang Lang and Rudolf Buchbinder and the cellist Mischa Maisky.
“We want to create an experience that leaves lasting memories,” says Florian. “All the different parts intertwine in a symphonic way. We want our passengers to enjoy music, enjoy the sea, discover new destinations and meet like-minded people from all over the world. On average, 80% of our passengers are returning customers. That fills us with a lot of pride. My wife and I accompany all the cruises. From the moment we start planning a voyage until the last people leave the ship, we are there. We offer a personal approach.”
And it’s not only passengers who leave with lasting memories: musicians do, too. Knut Weber, cellist with the Berlin Philharmonic, who played with a chamber ensemble drawn from the orchestra last year, said it is a privilege to go back aboard ship after a concert ashore with the same people you have just played for. “They tell you what touched them. I was really surprised how close you become to the audience. You meet again at a bar or at breakfast and talk about an arrangement or a composer. People have so much in common.”
Soprano Marlis Petersen agrees: “You feel on equal terms with the audience and have great conversations about the music, the ship, the journey. It’s close, and I like that very much.”
So what can next year’s passengers expect? After leaving Barcelona and enroute to Cannes, tenor Hiroaki Fueda will present a special recital on board ship. Then, after a day enjoying the delights of Cannes, back aboard Explora I pianist Gabriela Montero will play. Moving on, the ship arrives in Portofino, Italy, when she will play again, this time ashore and joined by violinist Daniel Hope in the beautiful Teatro Sociale in Camogli. Day five sees passengers exploring Florence before travelling to Lucca, birthplace of Puccini, for an exclusive concert at the historic Teatro del Giglio, given by the all-female La Philharmonica.
The ship then heads for Corsica, docking at Porto Cervo, and that evening La Philharmonica appear again, this time joined by soprano Christiane Karg. The next evening, after Explora I moves to Corsican capital Ajaccio, Daniel Hope and baritone Thomas Hampson feature in a special chamber concert. Then it’s back across the Mediterranean, this time heading for Civitavecchia and the wonders of Rome. Some will leave the voyage at this point, but those who opt for the encore can look forward to another seven days aboard, with six stops in Italy, France and Spain. During those days passengers can hear recitals by Chu Yi-Bing, Kristine Opolais and Xavier de Maistre.
Planning these voyages is an intricate business. MS6 works nearly three years in advance to secure the right ship, plan the route, book the artists and reserve the concert venues ashore.
The concert programmes evolve in collaborative discussions between MS6 and the musicians. Next year works by Strauss, Mozart, Brahms and Korngold will feature. “Normally the artists will make a proposition,” says Florian. “We hardly ever have to argue with them! We want them to play or sing something they find a lot of joy in performing. Opera singers will often want to sing their favourite arias, works they think they interpret the best. Sometimes not even opera: this year the tenor Joseph Calleja sang Amazing Grace at the end of a recital and it caught everyone’s heart. It connected with everyone.”
Sea & Music 2026 departs on 22nd June until 6th July. Prices begin at €8,980 per person.
See more information about Sea & Music 2026.
This article was sponsored by MS6 Reisegesellschaft mbH.
