Read 12 reviews of Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad in the pastFounded in 2001 the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad are now considered as one of the leading winter festivals in Europe. The festival takes place every year at the end of January / beginning of February in the area of famous ski resort Gstaad in the Swiss Bernese Oberland.
The festival features three concert venues: The Church of Saanen, with beautiful wooden ceilings and praised acoustics seats 600 seats, and welcomes internationally acclaimed soloists and orchestras such as Grigory Sokolov, Cecila Bartoli, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Vadim Repin, Mischa Maisky, Camerata Bern, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Sinfonia Varsovia, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and I Barocchisti, to name just a few. The concerts taking place in the 11th century romanesque Church of Rougemont are dedicated to piano recitals and chamber music. After the Saanen concerts, dinner parties with the artists and open to the public are held at the famous Gstaad Palace Hotel (www.palace.ch) and after the Rougemont concerts the public can share a Fondue or Raclette with the artists in the relaxed ambiance of the traditional restaurant "Café du Cerf". Every year the Chapel of Gstaad features a series of eight concerts dedicated to the raising stars of a diffrent instrument.
The Sommets Musicaux are proud to have the Banque Privéee Edmond de Rothschild as its main partner since the beginning of the festival. Encouraging the future of classical music is important to the event and to its main partner. Therefore every year, one of the young performers of the concert series held in the Gstaad Chapel is awarded the Prix Groupe Edmond de Rothschild which allows him to record his first CD with Orchestra. Past prizewinners include Alexandra Soumm, Joseph Moog, Nicolas Altstaedt, Herman Wallén, Sophie Pacini, Berolina Trio and Emmanuel Ceysson.
