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The picture shows a string orchestra and some wind players receiving applause after a concert. They are in a room with historical wall paintings and woodwork, suggesting a church or an old concert hall. The musicians and the audience seem to be enjoying the event.

Gstaad Menuhin Festival & Academy

It is one of the largest festivals for classical music in the country: the Gstaad Menuhin Festival & Academy. It all started in 1957, with two concerts by the violinist of the century, Yehudi Menuhin, in the church in Saanen.

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The 69th edition of the Gstaad Menuhin Festival & Academy marks the third and final year of the “Wandel” (change) cycle (2023-2025) and is artistically dedicated to the intersection of music, migration, and belonging.

Alongside climate change and global conflicts with their far-reaching consequences, migration ranks among the greatest societal challenges of our time.

The 2025 programme explores this topic from four distinct perspectives. Few other art forms capture the tension of migration – between suffering, longing and hope – as powerfully as music:

“Origin”: Music that is deeply rooted in its homeland and origins.

“Escape to Exile”: Works that tell stories of flight and exile.

“Inner Emigration”: Compositions created under totalitarian regimes or by individuals who, whether by force or choice, retreat into their inner world and find a path to self-liberation.

“Nostalgia”: The expression of longing for a lost or abandoned homeland and the musical reflection of a profound sense of homesickness.

The picture shows a choir and an orchestra during a concert. The conductor is leading the group, which is singing and playing intensively. The scene seems to take place in a room with wall paintings that has a historical feel.
The picture shows a string orchestra and some wind players receiving applause after a concert. They are in a room with historical wall paintings and woodwork, suggesting a church or an old concert hall. The musicians and the audience seem to be enjoying the event.

Location

Dorfstrasse 60
3792 Saanen

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