Dazzling soloists and legendary orchestral works for an evening of memories and favorites. A quarter of a century is cause for celebration, and it's with the trumpet that the joy of inaugurating this 25th edition will burst forth.
The evening of concertos
Alexandra Conunova
Born in Modavia, violinist Alexandra Conunova won 1st Prize at the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Hanover in 2012. In 2015, she reached the final of the prestigious Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, where she was awarded 3rd Prize. From then on, she embarked on a solo career that has taken her all over the world under the baton of conductors such as Gergiev, Spivakov and Noseda, to name but a few. She takes part in numerous festivals, including Verbier, Gstaad and Montreux Septembre musical. She has recorded Prokofiev’s sonatas for violin and piano with Michail Lifits for Aparté, and Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Insula Orchestra and Laurence Equilbey for Erato. She plays a Guarneri del Gesu violin, the “von Vecsey”, from 1730.
Estelle Revaz
“Estelle Revaz is an enlightened, lively and profound musician endowed with great musical curiosity” Gautier Capuçon
Curious: always on the lookout for original programs, she is as interested in the great works of the repertoire as she is in new works, as demonstrated by her regular collaborations with composers of our time.
Enlightened: witness her discography, acclaimed by the international press, whose programs are always the fruit of reflection, contrasting tradition and modernity (Bach & Friends), highlighting the music of her home country Switzerland (Cantique, Journey to Geneva) or forging links between composers (Fugato, Inspiration populaire).
Lively: charismatic to a fault, she delights audiences and the international media alike, as demonstrated by her appearances on Radio France, Deutschlandfunk and WDR3, as well as on Radio Télévision Suisse, RTBF and TV5 Monde.
Committed: during the pandemic, she worked tirelessly to show how essential culture was, and to relay the concerns of cultural players to the political world. Elected National Councillor in 2023, she will sit in Parliament in Berne for the next legislature. Trained at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris (CNSMDP), the Musikhochschule in Cologne and the HEMU in Lausanne, Estelle Revaz is also the author of “La Saltimbanque”, published by Slatkine in 2023.
Hannes Minnaar
Press and public alike describe Hannes Minnaar as a pianist who knows how to convey the essence of music. They praise his spontaneity, natural playing and relaxed, unencumbered superficiality. Minnaar has won prizes at the Geneva Competition (2008, 2nd prize) and the Queen Elisabeth Competition (2010, 3rd prize), among others. In 2016, he was awarded the Dutch Music Prize. Minnaar performs as a soloist and with orchestra throughout Europe and abroad. Herbert Blomstedt, Antony Hermus, Xian Zhang and Jirí Belohlávek are just some of the conductors he has worked with. He is also a passionate chamber musician, notably with the Van Baerle Trio, which he founded with Maria Milstein and Gideon den Herder. His recording of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra and Jan Willem de Vriend was voted a “Recording of the Year” by BBC Radio 3’s Building a Library. His solo CDs have also received rave reviews. Gramophone wrote of his first CD, devoted to works by Rachmaninov and Ravel: “He is a convincing painter of sound and an ardent romantic. He’s a natural talent with an audacious side. Commenting on Nox, his CD with works by Schumann, Ravel and a specially composed cycle by Robert Zuidam, Het Parool wrote: “Minnaar joins the ranks of the great pianists of our time”. His recording of the Goldberg Variations was also acclaimed by the critics, including a Diapason d’Or. Future projects include a recital of Dmitri Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues Op. 87 (also to be released on CD), the Dutch premiere of Jörg Widmann’s Trauermarsch with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and James Gaffigan on a Saturday matinee at the Concert¬gebouw, and a program of recitals in the UK. At home, Hannes Minnaar plays, among other instruments, an 1858 Erard grand piano on loan from the National Musical Instrument Fund.
Simon Blatter
In the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons, Valais trumpeter Simon Blatter was a member of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra Academy. In the following season, he was a scholarship holder at the Paul-Hindemith Orchestra Academy of the Opera and Museumsorchester Frankfurt am Main. In 2023, he was principal trumpet with the Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester in Denmark and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra in Finland.
Since January 2024 he has been engaged as substitute soloist at the Staatstheater Nürnberg.
Further engagements have taken him to the St. Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Mannheim Nationaltheater, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rhineland-Palatinate, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. In summer 2018, Simon Blatter is invited to take part in the prestigious Aspen Music Festival and School (Colorado/USA).
Simon Blatter was awarded the Prix d’Encouragement Culturel 2023 by the State of Valais. Trained at Basel’s Hochschule für Musik, he obtained a Master’s degree in Performance with honors in June 2022.
L’Orchestre International de Genève
The Orchestre International de Genève brings together around fifty musicians of some twenty nationalities, all with a special link to Geneva. The musicians of the OIG perform at the finest festivals, including Lucerne, Verbier, Gstaad, Montreux, Saint-Ursanne, Salzbourg and Aix-en-Provence. Many are established musicians belonging to prestigious ensembles such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Orchestre National de France, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester… A few are perfecting their skills at the Haute école de musique de Genève, a breeding ground for young talent. Their integration into L’OIG is a gateway to professional life. It gives them the chance to perform alongside instrumentalists at the peak of their careers, who are keen to support them. As part of L’OIG, they share musical and humanist experiences on an international scale during exceptional events.
Musicians:
– Alexandra Conunova, violin
– Estelle Revaz, cello
– Hannes Minnaar, piano
– Simon Blatter, trumpet
– Geneva International Orchestra
Program:
– Ludwig van Beethoven: Triple Concerto for violin, cello, piano and orchestra in C major, Op.56
– Dmitri Shostakovich: Concerto for piano, trumpet and string orchestra in C minor, Op.35
Opening hours
Doors open at 18:30.
Accessibility
Prestations
Prices
- Single rate: CHF 60.-
Category B
- Single rate: CHF 45.-
Category C
- Adult: CHF 35.-
- Student: CHF 15.-
- Children under 15: CHF 10.-
Festival pass :
- Category A = CHF 276.-
- Category B = CHF 216.-
- Category C = CHF 176.-
The festival subscription includes 5 church concerts (excluding children's shows) + 1 temple concert.
Payment methods
- Twint
- Bank/credit card
- Online payment