A late summer night’s dream

Music lovers enjoy the magical mountains around the Matterhorn – especially in late summer. For this is when the Zermatt Festival takes place, with a series of spectacular concerts at the foot of the magic mountain.

To open the 9th Festival, conductor and pianist Christian Zacharias with the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana perform the Fourth Symphony by Schumann and Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto. With Fabrizio Chiovetta, piano music is also in the best of hands the following evening. Another highlight of the start of the festival is the Sunday concert at the Riffelalp Kapelle in its idyllic setting, 2222 metres above sea level. Just as two years ago, Michel Dalberto accompanies the singer Stephan Genz in a song cycle by Franz Schubert.

The heart of the two weeks of the Festival is the Zermatt Festival Academy, under the guidance of the Scharoun Ensemble Berlin. Open rehearsals and concerts allow audiences to experience up close how first-class soloists and talented students get down to work. The Violin Concerto by Beethoven, Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony, the string quintets by Dvořák and Schubert and Haydn’s Cello Concerto are just some of the highlights of this Late Summer Night’s Dream.