Music and words poetically united
The initiator of the Bruges Rhone Festival, soprano Franziska Heinzen, has invited Rachel Harnisch, among others, and is focusing on the 200th anniversary of Clara Schumann's birth.
A Lied recital is more than just a concert, because it combines music and words in the most poetic way: Festival initiator and soprano Franziska Heinzen has set herself the goal of promoting art song in her home town of Brig through various concert formats. After a successful first edition in May 2018, with Swiss baritone Äneas Humm and Hartmut Höll, piano, among others, the Rhone Festival for Lied Art will take place for the second time from 30 May to 2 June.
It will open with an unconventional evening in the bistro of the Zeughaus Kultur Brig: poetry slam (Phibi Reichling, Kilian Ziegler and Felicia Brembeck aka Fee) meets the supposedly "iron" art of song. This concept by pianist Marlene Heiss won the Audience Engagement Award 2018 at the Graz song competition "Schubert und die Moderne".
The highlight of the festival is the recital by the internationally renowned soprano Rachel Harnisch, also from Brig, and her piano partner Jan Philip Schulze, with works ranging from Franz Schubert to George Crumb.
To mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of pianist and composer Clara Schumann, the festival will focus on compositions by women: The recital "Female composers: Adornment or Master?" with Franziska Heinzen, soprano and Benjamin Mead, piano, highlights works by 20 female composers from Clara Schumann to Isabel Mundry. In addition, Barbara Terpoorten will read about the lives of Clara Schumann, Alma Mahler and Fanny Hensel-Mendelssohn. The focus will continue in the Capitol cinema with the award-winning documentary film Composers by Kyra Steckeweh and Tim van Beveren, which goes beyond the sheet music to illuminate the composer's not always easy position over the last 200 years.
As a Swiss festival, the Rhone Festival would like to promote Swiss composers and poets - most of whom are unknown - with its own concert in future. As more Swissness is not possible than on Swiss National Day, this concert will take place outside the regular festival period around August 1st, this year under the title "Alte Weisen, neu entdeckt: Homage to Gottfried Keller" on July 31 at Stockalper Castle in Brig.
Further information on all events can be found at
