Press release

November 21, 2024 – Verbier (Switzerland) – PRESS RELEASE

Following a very successful 2024 edition (+11% ticket sales compared to 2023, which marked the Festival’s 30th anniversary), the Verbier Festival unveils the programme for its 32^nd edition, set to take place from July 16 to August 3, 2025.

Over 19 days, the Festival will offer more than 60 Mainstage concerts and 100 masterclasses, delighting audiences in the heart of the Valais resort.

Faithful to its values of excellence and discovery, while focusing on nurturing young talent, the Verbier Festival promises a wealth of unmissable events for music lovers worldwide. Key highlights include:

• Artists making their Verbier debut: Barbara Hannigan (opening concert on July 17), Sonya Yoncheva, Leonardo García-Alarcón, Teodor Currentzis (2 concerts).
• Returning artists closely linked to the Festival’s history: Martha Argerich (3 concerts), Khatia Buniatishvili (closing concert on August 3), Janine Jansen, Daniil Trifonov, Paavo Järvi…
• Beloved Verbier family artists: Evgeny Kissin, Mischa Maisky, Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Mao Fujita, Martin Fröst, Leonidas Kavakos, Antoine Tamestit, the Ébène Quartet…
• Conductors: Klaus Mäkelä (4 concerts, including 2 as a cellist), Lahav Shani, Manfred Honeck, Fabio Luisi, Gábor Takács-Nagy…
• Pianists: Yunchan Lim (3 concerts, including the Goldberg Variations on July 22), Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Sergei Babayan, Mikhaïl Pletnev, Alexander Malofeev, Minsoo Sohn, Behzod Abduraimov, Viktoria Postnikova…
• Singers: Lise Davidsen, Ying Fang, Mariana Flores, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Freddie De Tommaso, Thomas Hampson, Benjamin Appl, Bryn Terfel, Ludovic Tézier…
• A special dance evening with the Béjart Ballet Lausanne on July 18, featuring Stravinsky’s The Firebird in Maurice Béjart’s iconic choreography.
• A jazz concert on August 1, with Brad Mehldau’s trio.
• A sacred music masterpiece, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, conducted by Leonardo García-Alarcón on July 26, featuring the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra and the Choeur de Chambre de Namur.
• Eight “Rencontres Inédites” (Unique Encounters) the signature series which has shaped the unique identity of the Verbier Festival, featuring Daniel Lozakovich, Timothy Ridout, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Marc Bouchkov, Edgar Moreau, and many others

Anniversaries to be celebrated during the 32nd edition:

• 50 years of performances by the legendary duo Martha Argerich & Mischa Maisky, with a special recital on July 28 at Verbier Church.
• 50^th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich’s passing, marked by a special evening conceived by Evgeny Kissin on July 29, featuring Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky, Antoine Tamestit, and the Ébène Quartet.
• 100^th anniversary of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s birth, honored with a concert-reading on July 25 led by Benjamin Appl.
• 150^th anniversary of Maurice Ravel’s birth, with the complete solo piano works performed by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet across two concerts on July 17.

The 32nd edition will officially begin with an opening ceremony on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, featuring speeches and a concert celebrating Swiss artists, including cellist Estelle Revaz, violinist Arthur Trælnes (a regular concertmaster of the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra and Verbier Festival Orchestra), and the Oberwalliser Vokalensemble.

Discovering and supporting the best young talent remains an absolute priority for the Verbier Festival. This year’s lineup will feature rising stars in recital and chamber music, including pianists Ekaterina Bonyushkina and Roman Borisov, violinists Randall Goosby and Johan Dalene, cellist Anastasia Kobekina, harpist Tjasha Gafner, and guitarist Thibaut Garcia…

This commitment is particularly evident in the Festival’s summer resident orchestras: the Verbier Festival Orchestra (99 musicians aged 18–28, from 23 nationalities, selected from over 1,100 applicants) and the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra (58 musicians aged 15–18, from 36 nationalities, selected from over 250 applicants).

The Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra continues to enhance the Festival’s global reputation year-round through tours and recordings. For the 2024/2025 season, it will perform in the USA, South Korea, India, Germany, and France.

The Festival’s Academy and Atelier Lyrique, internationally recognized for their excellence in musical education, will once again host nearly 60 students, mentored by leading contemporary masters. Additionally, 100 free public masterclasses will be offered.  The schedule can already consulted online.

The programme of the creative lab UNLTD will be revealed on February 13, 2025.

Access to the Programme 2025 in pdf here

The Verbier Festival is a classical music festival that encourages sharing between great musicians and young aspiring artists from around the world. It is committed to excellence in music performance and education through its highly respected artistic programme, Academy and community engagement programmes. The 32^nd edition of the Verbier Festival will take place July 16 to August 3 2025 in Verbier (Switzerland). The Festival is made possible with the generous support of its many private and public sponsors such as the Association of the Friends of the Verbier Festival, the Chariman’s Circle, the Communue de Val de Bagnes and with its Principal Sponsorships SICPA and Reyl Bank.