Zermatt Festival

The 6th Zermatt Festival will take place between the 3rd and 19th of September in the beautiful Swiss mountain village of Zermatt. The resort of Zermatt,1,620 metres above sea level and with 5,460 inhabitants, lies in a 30-kilometer-long valley and is surrounded by magnificent 4,000 meter-high mountains. With such a spectacular setting, it is no wonder that large numbers of visitors come here every year from all over the world.

Over the years, Zermatt has also become more and more popular with renowned artists. Fifty years ago, the Catalan cellist, conductor and composer Pablo Casals chose the village in the canton of Valais to hold masterclasses and summer concerts.With the founding of the Zermatt Festival, music and art lovers have now revived this connection. Right from the start, the festival was able to forge a close partnership with the musicians of the Scharoun Ensemble from Berlin, thus continuing the musical standard set by Casals. The Scharoun Ensemble, which was founded by members of the Berliner Philhamoniker, were looking for a summer residency where they could perform concerts and also pass on their musical experience to young musicians. The Zermatt Festival Foundation incorporated these ideas into their concept for the festival, and the first festival took place in September 2005.

Other events also take place as part of the Zermatt Festival as well as concerts. A chamber music academy enables around 30 students from all over the world to attend masterclasses and to play with musicians from the Berliner Philharmoniker. The programme of events also includes exciting workshops for young and old. In addition, the festival is currently developing partnerships with guest lecturers from the worlds of film and painting. This year, we are also introducing a series of pre-concerts lectures presented by musicologists, historians and musicians, including this year's Composer in Residence, the composer and oboist Heinz Holliger.

Since its creation, the Zermatt Festival has been supported by a Foundation consisting of people actively involved in the local area:

Rediscovery the programme of recent years

Programme 2009
Programme 2008
Programme 2007
Programme 2006
Programme 2005