Thursday, 30 September marked the final day of Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey’s 75th edition. Artists from the fields of jazz, yodelling, theatre and even children’s songs joined Switzerland’s greatest classical orchestras and soloists. Together, they took to the stage in six of the Swiss Riviera’s most iconic locations for fifteen concerts and performances over thirteen days in front of almost 7,000 spectators.
“This year in particular, with the pandemic still ongoing, we wanted to showcase the excellence of Swiss artists, some of whom are little-known in their own country despite international acclaim,” emphasises Mischa Damev, the festival’s director. This edition represents artists hailing from all four corners of our country: the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Jonathan Nott, Gaëtan, Marie-Claude Chappuis, the Kammerorchester Basel, Sol Gabetta, Camerata Bern, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Emmanuel Pahud, Mummenschanz, the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana, Baldur Brönnimann, Nadja Räss, Markus Flückiger, Thierry Lang Project, Henri Dès, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi, Francesco Piemontesi, Oliver Schnyder Trio, Estelle Revaz, Christian Chamorel, Samuel Niederhauser, Marika Riedl, Daria Rybak, Ilva Eigus, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Michael Sanderling and Louis Schwizgebel. “Culture plays an absolutely vital role in our lives. In a country like Switzerland, which has four linguistic regions, culture represents an essential social bond. Judging by their enthusiasm, this is something our audience and the artists have understood very well,” Mischa Damev is pleased to announce.
This year, 21% of the tickets sold were purchased by young people*, compared with 11% in 2019. “This is very encouraging progress and surpasses the objectives we had set ourselves for this edition,” says Laurent Maire, president of the Fondation du Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey. “One of the festival’s objectives is precisely to encourage young people to discover culture’s many qualities. Through different initiatives, such as concert tickets for CHF 10, we hope to make it more accessible.” The concert dedicated to young Swiss virtuosos was completely sold out.
The 76th edition of Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey will take place from 19 to 29 September 2022 with Austria as the guest country.
Young people*: children up to the age of 16, as well as all apprentices and students.