28th Davos Festival bids farewell to Graziella Contratto
As usual, the last edition of the Davos Festival organized by the departing artistic director Graziella Contratto offers an original and coherent programme and promising young performers. The Glarus composer Balz Trümpy will be guest composer in residence at the Graubünden spa town.
"Serendipity" means the unexpectedly coincidental, the fairytale-like, the idyllic, the unheard-of, explained festival directors Dolores Mark and Graziella Contratto at the presentation of the program to media representatives.
Ancient pilgrim songs, works by the lucky children Mozart and Mendelssohn, transcriptions "with sudden added value", the recital, a nomadic hike, Wagner in the salon, a concert of wishes and the prizewinners' concert in collaboration with the Concours Ernst Haefliger are just some of the offerings.
Young musicians such as pianist Benyamin Nuss, sopranos Julia Westendorp and Lena Kiepenheuer, clarinettist Nils Kohler, the Hermès Quartet and Laura Schmid, winner of the Prix Credit Suisse Jeunes Solistes 2013, will be performing in Davos.
"Werk für drei von neun Musen" is the title of the commissioned work that Trümpy wrote especially for the Davos Festival and the medieval singing ensemble Les Neuf Muses. He will also lead a workshop with the two up-and-coming composers Matthias Renaud (Switzerland) and Demetre Gamsakhurdia (Georgia), who will present their works composed especially for the Davos Festival.
More info: www.davosfestival.ch