Yehudi Menuhin in 1937
From Elgar to 007 to Shakespeare: London inspiration is the musical mood of
the Swiss Alps this summer
The 65 th Gstaad Menuhin Festival will run from 16 July to 4 September 2021 in Gstaad, a
village encircled by gorgeous greenery and alpine mountains
Through its programming, Gstaad is celebrating the brilliant artists and composers across the
centuries whose artistry thrived whilst in the UK’s capital city: Handel; Bach; Haydn;
Mendelssohn and more. London was also an important place for the festival’s founder and violinist
Yehudi Menuhin: The openness and acceptance he encountered in the city sculpted his artistic
identity, and London was also where he forged friendships with Elgar and Britten, who both went
on to profoundly influence the violinist’s career
No programme with a London twist would be complete without Elgar, and the English composer’s
work is peppered throughout the festival: Daniel Hope gives a concert of his ‘Violin Sonata’ and
‘Piano Quintet’ amongst friends for the opening night in the Saanen Church (16 July); whilst Sol
Gabetta presents his famous ‘Cello Concerto’ with Jaap van Zweden conducting the Gstaad
Festival Orchestra (14 August)
Elsewhere, classical music stars will weave in and out of the intoxicating summer days: Khatia
Buniatishvili will dazzle audiences in a concert of Tchaikovsky’s mighty ‘Piano Concerto No. 1’,
(13 August); violinist Isabelle Faust and pianist Bertrand Chamayou will perform together in a
glittering evening of Mendelssohn and Schubert (5 August); and the magical virtuosity of both
violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and pianist Fazil Say will collide for a spellbinding performance
encompassing the works of Brahms, Schubert and Janáček (7 August)
The King’s Singers will make the heights of the alps resound with their exquisite high notes in a
concert comprised of songs by Henry VIII, Byrd, Purcell and more (20 July)
After opening the festival, Daniel Hope will return with two more offerings of English music, joining
a-cappella ensemble VOCES8 to share instrumental and vocal music spanning 500 years, ranging
from works by Thomas Tallis to The Beatles (19 July); and elsewhere performing alongside
baritone Thomas Hampson in a night of English folk songs arranged by Britten, Haydn, Vaughan
Williams and Beethoven (22 July)
Over in the Gstaad Festival Tent, pianist Hélène Grimaud will share sea shanty songs before
turning to the work of Mozart’s 20th Piano Concerto (8 August), whilst on another evening,
soprano Lisette Oropesa and tenor Javier Camarena will star in Bellini’s “I puritani” (28 August)
The City Light Symphony Orchestra will close the festival with an unforgettable symphonic night
of famous film music, tracing the musical adventures of James Bond and more (4 September)
Other artists include Tenebrae, András Schiff, Julia Fischer, Alexandra Conunova, and Chick
Corea
The festival places a spotlight on Shakespeare with two concerts dedicated to him, including
Shakespeare in Songs, which sees mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and baritone Roderick
Williams set his beloved words to the music of Haydn, Rufus Wainwright and others (23 July)
To ensure the safety of its visitors, the festival has put a comprehensive protection plan in
place: There will be contact tracing at all the concerts; guaranteed spacing of one seat from the
next group of people at all concerts; flexibility of ticket return; doubling of several concerts; and all
church concerts will be interval free
The Gstaad Digital Festival will run alongside the live festival, streaming specific concerts online,
hosting artists interviews and unique behind-the-scenes glimpses. The online programme will be
announced later this Summer
Artistic Director Christoph Müller has ensured the festival continues to evoke the humanitarian
spirit of Yehudi Menuhin, mixing performances from world-class artists with educational
opportunities for the stars of tomorrow, in a series of ‘L’Heure Bleue’ masterclasses and concerts
dedicated this year to Orchestra Conducting, Strings and Baroque Music
Festival Website gstaadmenuhinfestival.ch/en
Digital Festival Website gstaaddigitalfestival.ch/
Academy Website gstaadacademy.ch/en/home
Orchestra Website gstaadfestivalorchestra.ch/en/home
Facebook facebook.com/GstaadMenuhinFestival
YouTube youtube.com/user/Menuhinfestival