Venue: Eglise de Verbier

A risk-free, splendid musical feast for a summer festival, magnificently performed in Verbier's church.

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. 

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.

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

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

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.