The 76th edition, dedicated to Austria, attracted nearly 15,000 spectators

On Thursday, 29 September, the 76th edition of Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey came to a close. Austria’s rich cultural heritage took centre stage this year. Eleven paid concerts, five of which sold out, and around thirty free cultural events attracted 15,000 spectators.

“This edition was conceived as a great celebration of Austrian culture that was open to everyone. The artistic programme offered classical music, of course, which is the DNA of our festival, but there was also folk music, klezmer, pop and even rock metal. With particularly attractive rates for young people, our cultural outreach events and the opening concert dedicated to Prokofiev’s work ‘Peter and the Wolf’, 25% of our audiences were young people (children and students). That is my greatest reward!” exclaimed the director of the festival, Mischa Damev.

From 19 to 29 September, the festival had the privilege of welcoming the finest orchestras, conductors and soloists from Austria, the home of classical music: Camerata Salzburg, Isabel Karajan, François Leleux, the Van Kuijk Quartet, Rolando Villazón, Hugues Borsarello, the Vienna Boys’ Choir, the Schumann Quartet, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, Michael Schade, Philharmonia Schrammeln, the Bruckner Orchester Linz, Markus Poschner, Julia Hagen, Trio Artio, Moritz Weiss Klezmer Trio and the Schloss Schönbrunn Orchester, not forgetting Mozart’s personal violin, which was presented and played to a rapt audience.

From 4 September, around thirty cultural activities took place, including concerts featuring different styles of music, an exhibition on Haydn presented by the Esterházy Foundation, as well as two cultural outreach events with schools in the region. “I was very pleased to see the enthusiastic participation of locals, both in the audience and on stage”, explains Laurent Maire, president of the Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey Foundation.