This summer’s programme is already rich with masterpieces. This week, we turn the spotlight on six of those unmissable works
STRAUSS
Ein Heldenleben
Mon. 20.07 | 6:30 PM
Ein Heldenleben (“A Hero’s Life”) is one of Richard Strauss’s most sweeping orchestral works. Epic, expansive and almost autobiographical, it demands an orchestra at the very top of its game and a conductor equal to the challenge. On 20 July, Simon Rattle and the Verbier Festival Orchestra rise to it in a programme with no shortage of other wonders: Ligeti’s famous Atmosphères, immortalized by Kubrick in 2001: A Space Odyssey, sits alongside Wagner’s Lohengrin Prelude and Rachmaninoff’s highly demanding Piano Concerto No. 3 performed by Kirill Gerstein, an alumnus of the Academy. A programme not to be missed!
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DVOŘÁK
New World Symphony
Tue. 21.07 | 6:30 PM
In 1892, Dvořák left Bohemia for New York to lead the National Conservatory of Music of America. Out of this crossing, and the composer’s arrival in a land he viewed with a mix of wonder and bittersweet nostalgia, came the Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”. Here, the distinct Czech accents of his musical language melt into a more universal, heroic narrative, steeped in the sounds of African American and Native American traditions. The result is a turbulent, tragic masterpiece, performed on 21 July by the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra under Gábor Takács-Nagy, who shares this deep Czech musical heritage. Earlier in the programme, Mozart’s delightful “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman” variations will be brought to life by the remarkable Mao Fujita, a former Academy student.
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BRAHMS
Double Concerto in A minor Op. 102
Mon. 27.07 | 6:30 PM
Aniconic testament to Brahms’s genius, the Double Concerto also marks his final great orchestral work. Composed in 1887 as a gesture of reconciliation with violinist Joseph Joachim, it features two soloists in a dialogue as virtuosic as it is profoundly expressive. Who better to reveal its full richness than soloists and partners Janine Jansen and Daniel Blendulf ? They take to the stage on 27 July alongside the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider. Also on the programme, Schumann’s famous Rhenish Symphony, composed in homage to Germany’s cultural heritage.
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SCHUBERT
Winterreise
Sat. 25.07 | 7:30 PM
Winterreise, composed just a year before Schubert’s death to poems by Wilhelm Müller, follows the wanderings of a young man broken by lost love. A haunting “twilight odyssey” in which the composer recognised himself entirely. Schubert sets the full fragility of the human soul to music in one of the most celebrated lieder cycles in the repertoire. Peter Mattei no stranger to this emotional landscape; his 2019 recording of Winterreise was a landmark release, establishing the Swedish baritone as a definitive interpreter of the cycle, accompanied at the piano on 25 July by Daniel Heide. A profound exploration of this Romantic masterpiece in the intimate setting of the Église.
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SCHUMANNViolin Concerto
Wed. 29.07 | 6:30 PM
A late and singular work of Robert Schumann, the Violin Concerto remained unpublished during his lifetime and was only rediscovered in the 20th century. Characterised by a dense and deeply personal style, it is now considered one of the most demanding concertos in the repertoire, as much for its internal tension as for its technical and musical challenges. On 29 July, Daniel Lozakovich,alumnus of the Academy, will give a highly anticipated performance alongside the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra. Conducted by Mikhail Pletnev, the programme also celebrates other masterworks of German Romanticism.
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MAHLERSymphony No. 6 “Tragic”
Thu, 30.07 | 6:30 PM
Subtitled the “Tragic” by Mahler himself, the Sixth Symphony is perhaps the most staggering work in his entire output. Structured as an inexorable march toward the abyss, it sustains an unrelenting tension for over an hour, from the vast horizons of the first movement to the famous hammer blows of the Finale, symbols of an implacable fate. Mahler’s premonition proved devastatingly accurate: in the year following the premiere, he was forced from his post at the Vienna Opera, his daughter died and he was diagnosed with a fatal heart condition. Rarely has a subtitle carried such weight. On 30 July, Maestro Gianandrea Noseda and the Verbier Festival Orchestra take on this extraordinary journey, preceded by Mikhail Pletnev, one of the greatest Chopin interpreters of our time, performing the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 2.
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