An evening dedicated to young Swiss talent, featuring artists from the new generation in the intimate setting of the Temple.
Young talents – “Vorwärts!”
Les Rencontres Musicales de Champéry devotes an evening to artists of the new generation, brought together in the intimate setting of the Temple. Vorwärts! showcases young musicians already noted for their personality and artistic commitment.
The duo re:flact, formed by Samuel Gogniat (vibraphone) and Mathis Wolfer (recorders), propose an original dialogue between Johann Sebastian Bach and Chick Corea, bringing together baroque invention and jazz freedom. Through arrangements, improvisations and sound collages, they explore unexpected connections between structure and spontaneity. Finalists at the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb 2025 in their discipline, they embody a curious and resolutely contemporary approach.
The evening continues with César Franck’s Sonata for violin and piano, performed by violinist Mathilde Watler and pianist Gaston Schadt. Both stand out for the maturity of their playing and the depth of their interpretation, tackling this masterpiece of Romanticism with intensity and a sense of dialogue. This emblematic, expressively rich score anchors the program in the tradition of the great repertoire.
A blend of sonic exploration and classical rigor, Vorwärts! celebrates the élan of youth and the vitality of transmission.
Musicians:
> Mathilde Walter, violin
> Gaston Schadt, piano
> Samuel Gogniat, percussion
> Mathis Wolfer, recorders
Program:
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and Chick Corea (1941-2021) – two names that, at first glance, have little in common: on the one hand, the Baroque master of counterpoint from the peaceful town of Eisenach, on the other, the American jazz pianist regarded as the pioneer of jazz fusion. Yet the two are linked not only by their virtuosity in the art of improvisation, but also by their mastery of variations and their ability to integrate different cultural influences into their works.
Chick Corea himself was an avowed admirer of Bach, and particularly enjoyed his “Goldberg Variations”. Some of his “Children’s Songs” are also based on a repetitive harmonic pattern – miniatures which, in their apparent simplicity, bear a striking resemblance to Bach’s inventions.
In three musical chapters – invention, variation and inspiration – Samuel Gogniat (vibraphone) and Mathis Wolfer (recorders) bring these two exceptional musicians into dialogue across the boundaries of time and style. In original collages that leave room for improvisation, baroque suites and jazz fusion, recorders and mallets, structure and freedom meet.
The sonata for violin and piano by César Franck (1822 – 1890), performed by violinist Mathilde Watler and pianist Gaston Schadt, is the Romantic sonata par excellence, the undisputed masterpiece of 19th-century French chamber music.
It owes its fame in part to the “little phrase” in Vinteuil’s sonata, evoked by Marcel Proust in Du côté de chez Swann: “This time, Swann had clearly distinguished a phrase rising for a few moments above the sound waves. It had immediately suggested to him particular voluptuousnesses of which he had never had the idea before hearing it, of which he felt that nothing other than it could make him aware, and he had felt for it like an unknown love…”
Franck dedicated his Sonata, composed in the summer of 1886, to the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, who premiered it at the Cercle Artistique in Brussels in December 1886. The first public performance was given in Paris on May 5, 1887, at the Société moderne, by its dedicatee, who took it around the world with equal success. After the sonatas by Lalo, Saint-Saëns and Fauré, Franck’s sonata played a key role in the evolution of the genre, notably through the adoption of cyclical form, in which the theme – or rather the main idea – runs through all the movements of the work, continually transforming itself and evolving into new figures, while remaining perfectly recognizable to the listener.
Mathilde Walter
Born in Geneva in 2007, Mathilde Walter took her first violin lesson at the age of four with Hong Ahn Shapiro. She then joined the Accademia d’Archi’s intensive program with Harieta Hermann. In 2021, she was admitted to Gyula Stuller’s virtuosity class at the Studio Kodály, where she benefited from numerous lessons with him and his son Barnabás. She then studied with Rada Hadjikostova at the precollege of classical music in Geneva. Mathilde is currently studying with Barbara Doll at the Musik Akademie Basel. At the same time, she is taking baroque violin lessons with Leila Schayegh at the Schola Cantorum.
Mathilde has won numerous first prizes in national and international competitions, including the 7th Grand Prix for Young Classical Talent (Geneva, 2022), the Concorso Internazionale d’Esecuzione Musicale di Stresa (2023), the Concours Clés d’Or (Paris, 2023) and first prize at the Concours International de Violon de Cambrai (2025). She also won unanimous first prize at Cap-Ferret (2023), first prize with congratulations at the Swiss Youth Music Competition in solo and duo (2021, 2024), first prize with congratulations and a special prize at the Riviera Competition, which gave her the opportunity to perform with pianist Sylviane Deferne. In November 2024, she won the grand prize at the Musikwettbewerb Laupersdorf. Finally, in February 2025 she won the Grand Prix at the Concours des Trois-Chênes, enabling her to perform Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole in March, accompanied by the Orchestre des Trois-Chênes.
In the summers of 2023 and 2024, Mathilde was a member of the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra, where she had the opportunity to work under Sir Simon Rattle. She was also invited to perform with the Junges Philharmonisches Orchester München, giving concerts at the Salzburg Mozarteum’s Great Hall and Munich’s Herkulessaal. In early January, she performed as concertmaster of the Deutsch-Skandinavische Jugend-Philharmonie, in the Great Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic. As a soloist, Mathilde has performed with several orchestras, including the Orchestre du Collège de Genève, the Orchestre Amati, the Orchestre d’Aigle, the Orchestre Uniart in Paris, the Orchestre français des jeunes talents and the Orchestre philharmonique des Hauts-de-France. She recently appeared as soloist at Geneva’s Victoria Hall, performing Bach’s Concerto in E major with the Orchestre des professeurs du Conservatoire populaire de Genève. In February 2026, she will give a recital at the Danish Church in Paris with pianist Jean-Baptiste Doulcet, as part of the French Connection Academy.
Mathilde has taken part in masterclasses with Sarah Nemtanu, Stéphanie-Marie Degand, Virginie Robillard, Boris Brovtsyn, Sergey Ostrovsky, Pierre Fouchenneret, Olivier Charlier and Philippe Graffin. Passionate about chamber music, Mathilde performs regularly in various ensembles, including a string quintet with teachers from the Arosa Music Academy, a piano quintet with the Swiss Chamber Concerts and a string octet at the Verbier Festival. She performs at the Nice Classique Live, the Sion Festival, the Festival des Bastions, the Septembre musical in Montreux and the Week-end Musical de Pully. In 2020, quite by chance, she took on her first pupils, one of whom went on to win the Vatelot-Rampal competition in Paris.
<Gaston Schadt
A native of Troistorrents, Gaston Schadt is a Swiss pianist born in 2004. The newspaper Le Temps hails a musician “full of élan and sometimes original musical ideas […]”, highlighting the energy and spontaneity of his playing. Trained with Macha Hulin, Guillaume Hersperger and Igor Tchetuev, he is currently continuing his studies in the class of Roustem Saïtkoulov. His career has been marked by a dozen solo and chamber music prizes, notably at the Lavaux Classic, Steinway and Sjmw competitions.
He performs regularly in Switzerland, France and Belgium, and has appeared as soloist with the Orchestre Nexus conducted by Guillaume Berney, and with the Orchestre du Conservatoire de Lausanne conducted by Maxime Pitois. At the same time, he has benefited from the teaching of pianists such as Denis Burstein, Alexis Golovine, Nikolaï Lugansky, Nelson Goerner, Lucas Debargue, Christian Favre, Anna Arzamanova and others, at various masterclasses.
Samuel Gogniat
Born in 2006, starts classical percussion at the age of 7 at the Lausanne Conservatory in Romain Kuonen’s class and obtains his certificate in May 2021. After a year at Pré-HEM, he enters the HEMU Lausanne in 2022 for a Bachelor’s degree in the percussion class of Emmanuel Séjourné, Vassilena Serafimova, Arnaud Stachnick and Romain Kuonen. Samuel has won several first prizes in Swiss and German national competitions, and international competitions in Belgium, Austria and Germany. He has played in several ensembles/orchestras, including the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra (2022-2024). He has also performed as a soloist and chamber musician at festivals such as Lavaux Classic, Week-end Musical de Pully, Festival 4 Saisons and Lucens Classique. Since 2022, Samuel has been supported by the Ruth and Ernst Burkhalter Foundation, and since 2025 by the “Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben”.
Mathis Wolfer
Recorder flutist and harpsichordist Mathis Wolfer, performs internationally, including at Bachfest Leipzig, Festival Grafenegg, Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival, Innsbrucker Festwochen, Festival MITO Milano, AMUZ Flanders and Salle Pierre Boulez. He has appeared as soloist with ensembles such as the Capricornus Consort, the baroque orchestra La Risonanza and the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra. Fascinated by both early and contemporary music, he performs with various chamber music ensembles, including Ensemble Feuervogel and Apollos Cabinet. As a continuo player, he regularly takes part in oratorio performances, notably with the Capriccio baroque orchestra.
The only recorder player to reach the orchestral finals of the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb 2025, he was awarded a scholarship and the special prize for early music. He has won the La Risonanza EMSA prize, first prizes at ORDA Amsterdam and second prize at the MOECK/SRP competition in London, among others. Trained at the Musikhochschule Freiburg with J.C. Dijoux and S. Temmingh, he continued his studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. From winter semester 2025/26, he teaches at the Musikhochschule Freiburg.
Practical information:
> More info on rencontres-musicales.ch
Opening hours
6:30 pm: Doors open
7:00 pm: Concert at the Temple.
Accessibility
Prestations
Cheeses
Prices
Student: CHF 15.00
Children (under 15): CHF 15.00
Free seating
Festival 2026 season ticket :
> Subscription Category A = CHF 264.00
> Subscription Category B = CHF 216.00
> Festival subscription includes 6 concerts (church, temple and symphony concert at the Palladium). The children's show (12.08) and the "Tree of Light" ice show (06-07.08) are not included.
Information
> Online ticketing closes at 5 p.m. on the same day.
> Tickets sold on site subject to availability.
> Only Twint and cash payments accepted.
> Free seating.