TALKS: Music, Debates & Perspectives

These pre-concert talks, privileged moments during which artists and major figures from the cultural scene share their insights and engage in dialogue, are highly successful.

“The TALKS aim to demonstrate that music interacts with all aspects of life.”
Maude Chuche, Head of TALKS

Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Patrick Aebischer & Kengo Kuma – TALKS 2025 © LaureN Pasche

How would you describe these moments of exchange, as varied as they are insightful?

Above all, I see them as conversations bringing together artists, journalists, and personalities from the musical and cultural world around themes that extend beyond the concerts themselves. These moments of encounter, reflection, and discovery, sometimes daily and sometimes twice daily, offer the public another way to access music.

Their content also provides a better understanding of the Festival itself, its ambitions, and its projects. Proof of this, for example, is today’s talk dedicated to the Verbier Cultural Centre teams or the one dedicated to the Shenzhen Verbier Festival on July 27.

Last year, the public turnout exceeded expectations; did this enthusiasm surprise you?

Yes, and even beyond our expectations. In summer 2025, eight of the twenty-two TALKS offered were fully booked. Overall, more than a thousand people attended. What particularly struck me were the spontaneous reactions from the public. A sign that we succeeded in creating a true event, it was quickly embraced by many enthusiasts happy to attend daily.

What new features are on the 2026 agenda?

We are welcoming new artists and more speakers who approach music from different angles. With the aim of broadening our perspectives, some TALKS will address societal topics, such as the one exploring the relationship between music and artificial intelligence, or those connecting music and therapy. By expanding our horizons, we show that music interacts with all aspects of life.

Interview by Marie-Madeleine Gabioud

TALKS: Verbier Cultural Centre

5:00 PM | Forum, Pavillon des Combins

Round table with the project teams: architects, acoustician, scenographer, engineer…

Free admission

The Verbier Festival wishes to express its deepest gratitude to its patrons, sponsors, partners and public institutions for their support and generous contributions.