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Kissin the mature artist speaks to Beethoven's architectural depths in the Swiss mountains. 

Bach on modern instruments: superbly played but inconsistent

Young musicians and experienced stars combine for a thrilling Frau in its centenary year

In a passionate and evocative programme, South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho shows that his interpretive skills can start to blossom beyond mere technical prowess. 

Classy performances from Leonidas Kavakos and Ying Fang, joining Christoph Eschenbach and the Verbier Festival Orchestra in a polished Berg Violin Concerto and a sublime Mahler 4.

Ilya Gringolts and Maxim Vengerov gave world-class performances of landmark pieces by Bach and Bartók, with a generous sprinkling of Prokofiev and Wieniawski giving extra sparkle.

Colours poured in through a metaphorical stained glass window in Verbier's church.

There were piano arpeggios that could have come from the pen of no other composer

A Finale of scorching changeability and complexity, with a coda whose ferocity drew gasps.

Like most honest listeners I crave a taste of turpitude in Salome.

There cannot be many more spectacular views enjoyed during a concert interval than that from the terrace of the Salle des Combins, the main venue for the Verbier Festival.

Beethoven's mighty Hammerklavier Sonata and Schumann's Kreisleriana made for a weighty Verbier recital programme which at times felt distinctly like 'work in progress'.

Musical pilgrims gathered in Verbier's church to listen to the cult Russian pianist in a programme of Schumann and Chopin. 

Trust Haydn to provide the music for by far the most engrossing performance I heard at the Verbier Festival. Once again, having heard his music played with verve and appreciation by keen musicians, one wondered why more Haydn is not heard in concert, whether as symphonies, piano sonatas, or string quartets.

Other than the gigantic Salle des Combins, a semi-permanent white tent seating a couple of thousand, the major venue for the Verbier Festival is the local église, perched higher up the mountains than the main square. Marked by a tall bell-tower shaped like a cross, the hall is prowlike, dark, and claustrophobic, enlivened only by coloured slits of light coming from behind the audience.

The Verbier Festival Orchestra is the centrepiece of the festival from which it takes its name. Hundreds of young players hoping to start a professional orchestral career audition each year for the chance to work with big-name conductors, the likes of which this year include Charles Dutoit, Valery Gergiev, Gábor Takács-Nagy, and, for this concert, Gianandrea Noseda.

The Recontres inédites series is what makes the Verbier Festival famous among aficionados. The title translates – roughly – as “Unprecedented Meetings”, and that is certainly what the concerts represent: world-class soloists brought together on minimal but far from non-existent rehearsal time to play chamber music.

When a young talent confirms his musical promise it a lovely thing to hear and to see. This is the case with French pianist David Kadouch who performed at the Verbier Festival on Saturday.Last year David was awarded the "Prix d’honneur" at the Verbier Festival Academy which entitled him to play at this year's Festival.

Unter der Leitung des Dirigenten Leonardo García-Alarcón präsentieren der Chœur de chambre de Namur, das Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra und ein buntes Solistenquintett eine uneinheitliche Deutung von Bachs Sakralwerk.

Das Erfolgsrezept des dritten der beliebten Rencontres inédites lautete: Man nehme zwei bekannte Kammermusikstücke von Brahms und lasse sie von hochkarätigen Musikern in verschiedenen Kombinationen musizieren.

Nicht weniger als sechzig grössere und kleinere Stars der klassischen Musikszene gaben sich beim Galakonzert in Verbier die Ehre. Ein grosser Erfolg für den Intendanten Martin Engstroem.

An den grossen Festivals werden die berühmten Solisten von renommierten Orchestern begleitet. In Verbier aber spielt der Pianist Mikhail Pletnev mit dem jugendlichen Verbier Festival Orchestra zusammen.

À Verbier, Fabio Luisi dirige l'orchestre du festival dans une Symphonie « Résurrection » incroyable d'engagement, malgré quelques imprécisions formelles.

Au Verbier Festival, Lahav Shani envoûte une soirée russe d’une énergie maîtrisée, accompagnant avec panache Denis Matsuev dans un Concerto n° 3 de Rachmaninov de toute beauté.

Un récital d’une admirable unité ! Les Chopin de Kissin furent hiératiques, son Schumann d’une justesse absolue et ses Debussy comme dans un rêve. Un voyage à vivre assurément.

Une bien belle soirée qui mit Haydn à l'honneur sous la direction magnifique de Gabor Takacs-Nagy qui fut l'architecte bienveillant d'une équipe superlative.