The battle of wills began over the Staatskapelle Dresden’s role at the festival and the division of power during the transition between Thielemann and Bachler.

In an open letter to the Austrian press Thielemann expressed his hope to conduct Wagner’s “Lohengrin” in Salzburg in 2022, and Strauss’s “Elektra” there in 2023. However, festival officials split the difference, announcing that Thielemann would conduct “Lohengrin” as his farewell in 2022.

Bachler is set to take over the festival in 2020 and reconfigure the 10-day event to make it more immersive and will invite different orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, for which the festival was originally conceived.