Festival Musikdorf Ernen

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Appointing with Church (2002)

The Musikdorf Ernen is an international festival with a focus on classical music and literature in the Swiss municipality of Ernen . Since 1974 concerts, readings and workshops have been held in the summer months of July and August.

History and direction of the festival

The founder of the festival was the Hungarian pianist and music teacher György Sebök , who also taught in the early years of the festival and organized concerts in parallel. In the meantime, the festival program has expanded and attracts musicians, artists, writers and an audience from all over the world.

György Sebök came up with the idea of ​​a cultural and musical training facility in the Swiss-Alpine mountain village of Ernen in the canton of Valais while on vacation in 1972. Two years later, the piano teacher organized the first so-called master class for piano and chamber music. During these three weeks, later known as the Summer Academy, the master class students began giving concerts in parallel with their classes. With the focus on the concerts, the character of the teaching weeks changed to a festival, which from 1987 on was carried out as the "Festival of the Future".

In 1988 the Musikdorf Ernen association was founded to organize and host the festival. György Sebök was the artistic director of the festival until his death in 1999. In the first years after the loss of the artistic director, the festival went through a period of upheaval and difficult times. The festival was realigned in 2004. With the appointment of artistic director Francesco Walter, the program was expanded and divided into several sections. The festival now lasts eight weeks and has been able to expand its reputation and awareness in the classical music scene in recent years. The title of the festival was officially changed in 2012, from now on it was called “Musikdorf Ernen”. The insider status was overcome during this time and the festival sells over 6250 tickets per concert season (as of 2015). In 2013 the festival was awarded the Prix ​​Montagne and in 2015 the music village Ernen received the Doron Prize . The focus of the 46th season 2019 will be togetherness . In the same year, the festival received the “Valais Culture and Business Prize 2019” from the Valais State Council.

Program design and sections

Since its redesign and reorganization in 2004, the Festival Musikdorf Ernen has continuously expanded the range of programs. Classic sections of the festival, in chronological order, are:

More recent program extensions of the festival are included:

More recently, the festival has also included artist talks and listening workshops.

A special feature of the festival is the appearance of the Baroque ensemble Ernen, an orchestra-in-residence .

The reference to “unheard of music” is programmatic for the self-image of the Festival Musikdorf Ernen. According to their own admission, forgotten or unknown composers should be rediscovered in Ernen and made known to a wider public. The claim to help less popular pieces gain recognition among musical circles relates in particular to baroque music. In addition, the festival sees it as its task to promote young musicians. Established musicians with young talents can perform together on a regular basis.

Since 1999, the piano week has been regularly contested with finalists of the Concours Géza Anda .

In an effort to combine modern and classical music, the festival regularly awards composition commissions. a. to Philip Glass , Alfred Zimmerlin , Ivan Jevtiĉ, Violeta Dinescu , Helena Winkelman and Andreas Zurbriggen .

Venues

The main venues of the festival are:

  • the Church of St. George - a parish church that was built between 1510 and 1518
  • the Tellenhaus - a community and meeting house from 1578, named after the Swiss national hero Wilhelm Tell

Invited guest concerts will be played in:

Films from and about the Festival Musikdorf Ernen

  • György Sebők, la musique comme langue maternelle. Etienne Blanchon / altomedia (France 2010).
  • György Sebők, une leçon de musique. Etienne Blanchon / altomedia, Idéale Audience International (France 1998).

literature

  • Ernen Music Village Association: In Memoriam György Sebök ( available online ).
  • Yves Fischer & Stephan Scheidegger: From mountain village to music village. In: Federal Office for Spatial Development ARE & Federal Office for Culture BAK (Ed.): Culture and creativity for sustainable development. Good examples for the community. Bern 2017, pp. 22–23. ( available online ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Verein Musikdorf Ernen: In Memoriam György Sebök. Ernen, 2011, p. 7.
  2. ^ Verein Musikdorf Ernen: In Memoriam György Sebök. Ernen, 2011, p. 7.
  3. ↑ Grichting, Alois: << Musikdorf Ernen >> shines. In: Walliser Bote, No. 159 of July 12, 2016, p. 7.
  4. ↑ The festival stands for a big idea in a small village , accessed on July 12, 2016.
  5. ^ Awardees , accessed on July 12, 2016.
  6. ↑ The State of Valais awards the “Prize for Culture and Economy” - the Musikdorf Ernen Association is the 2019 prize winner , accessed on April 19, 2019.
  7. ↑ Herpell, Gabriela: Writing with Donna Leon. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin, No. 16 of July 17, 2014, pp. 10-13.
  8. ↑ Theler, Luzius: A mountain village as a synonym for classical music. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, No. 81 of April 7, 2014, p. 9.