As the winter season draws to a close, preparations are underway for the Gstaad Menuhin Festival (14 July – 2 September 2023).

The organisers have prepared a smorgasbord of concerts for the Gstaad Festival Tent and churches around the region, including Saanen, Lauenen, Zweisimmen, Rougemont, Gsteig, Boltigen, the Gstaad Chapel and more. Here’s a peek at what’s coming:

ANNA CHARLES

J.S. BACH

The music of J.S. Bach will play a central role in this year’s programme, right from the double-opening concert of Mass in B Minor (on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 July at 19:30, Saanen Church) featuring Dorothee Mields, Soprano, the Gaechinger Cantorey and the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart.

Other Bach-focused concerts include:

Bach Nostalgia: Sunday, 16 July (18:00), Zweisimmen Church. Francesco Piemontesi plays Bach’s Prelude plus pieces by Debussy and Schubert.

Bach Intense: Tuesday, 18 July (19:30), Saanen Church. Menuhin’s Heritage Artist Bomsori Kim and the a cappella ensemble VOCES8 immerse themselves in the musical universe of J.S. Bach, enriching it with contemporary accents.

BACHiana: Wednesday, 26 July (19:30), Boltigen Church. Join Anastasia Kobekina and the SIGNUM Saxophone Quartet for Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 1, Brandenburg

Concerto No. 3, and Suite No. 3 for Solo Cello plus more.

Recital: Friday, 4 August (19:30), Saanen Church. Sir András Schiff performs a programme of works by and inspired by Bach.

Bach’s Playlist: Thursday, 3 August (19:30), Zweisimmen Church. Avi Avital and Maurice Steger present a selection of music exclusively by Bach.

“NACH BACH oder fügsame Fugen”: Wednesday, 9 August (19:30), Gsteig Church. Actor Alain Claude Sulzer shares the stage with Yaara Tal to pay tribute to Bach in sound and words.

Additionally there are three concerts celebrating ‘Ich bin Bachianer’ (an expression coined by Johannes Brahms to express the debt of gratitude by Bach’s successors): I: Friday, 21 July (19:30), Rougemont Church (works by Schubert and Brahms); II: Tuesday, 25 July (19:30), Saanen Church (Sol Gabetta, cello and Francesco Piemontesi, piano); III: Friday, 28 July (19:30), Saanen Church (Renaud Capuçon, violin and Alexandre Kantorow, piano.)

TODAY’S MUSIC

The festival includes a series of concerts under the banner ‘Today’s Music’:

The Big B’s: Thursday, 20 July (19:30), Zweisimmen Church, featuring the Janoska Ensemble.

Joy & Love: Sunday, 23 July (18:00), Saanen Church. Nemanja Radulović and the Ensemble Double Sens perform music from twenty countries.

“Marlene”: Saturday, 29 July (19:30), Gstaad Festival Tent. Ute Lemper’s Rendez-Vous with Marlene Dietrich.

“And Now Rachmaninoff”
– Music & Comedy: Sunday, 30 July (18:00), Multipurpose Hall Lenk by Igudesman and Joo.

“Echoes of Life”: Sunday, 13 August (18:00), Gstaad Festival Tent: Alice Sara Ott on piano with video installations by Hakan Demirel.

East and South Divertimenti: Thursday, 24 August (19:30), Saanen Church. Featuring music by Enescu, Piazzolla, Bartók and others, performed by trumpet player Lucienne Renaudin Vary with the Menuhin Academy Soloists.

MUSIC FOR THE PLANET

You can also enjoy three ‘Music for the Planet’ concerts, each created and realised by violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja:

‘Les Adieux’: Saturday, 5 August (19:30), Gstaad Festival Tent. An audiovisual performance including excerpts from Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony, played by the Gstaad Festival Orchestra.

‘The Trout’: Thursday 10 August (19:30), Saanen Church. A programme dedicated to Schubert’s famous “Trout Quintet”, plus Kopatchinskaja’s own composition on the Inuit.

‘The Seven Last Words’: Sunday 20 August (18:00), Saanen Church. Featuring the “Seven Last Words” of Haydn, presented with text and image projections.

Visit www.gstaadmenuhinfestival.ch for tickets.