Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey is a classical music festival of supreme reputation. It takes place in the area of Canton Vaud, informally known as the Swiss Riviera, with its spectacular views of Lake Geneva.
Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey in 2024
This festival is one of the oldest classical music festivals that are still up and running in Switzerland - in fact, the only Swiss classical music festival that's older is the Lucerne Festival. In the music world, Montreux is also a focal point globally, thanks to the Montreux Jazz Festival which takes place each summer.
This year, the festival is more accessible than ever, with reduced-rate tickets for young classical audience members. With entry more affordable than before, the organisers hope that the concerts will be more inclusive to a wider, younger and more diverse audience, in addition to the festival's longstanding patrons.
World-class orchestras, ensembles, conductors and soloists
Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey boasts some of the most impeccable musical performances by the foremost Swiss orchestras, with a slew of celebrated international soloists and conductors.
The musicians and ensembles performing at Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey 2024 include:
Kristjan Järvi Ensemble
Louis & Georges Schwizgebel
Baltic Sea Philharmonic
Igudesman & Joo
Timothy Chooi & Alexander Malofeev
Photo credit: Celine Michel
About Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey
Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey is so prestigious that a concert hall was built especially for the event. Auditorium Stravinski, the 1.800-seater concert hall was built in the 1990s and named after the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky who, notably, conducted an entire concert of his own works at the 1956 edition of Septembre Musical.
The festival was established in 1946. At the time, Switzerland, particularly around lac Léman, saw an influx of refugees, becoming a melting pot of creativity, with many brilliant minds fleeing to safety there due to its neutral status in World War II. Several great composers and musicians called Switzerland their new home or lived there temporarily before emigrating to America, many of them fleeing persecution in their native countries.
The first edition of the festival took place on September 6, 1946, at the Casino-Kursaal in Montreux. In terms of classical music, it was a window to the world. To this day, the festival attracts some of the most illustrious classical musicians from all over the world.
Concert venues at Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey
With construction work on the Montreux Convention Centre putting it sadly out of action until 2025, here are the concert venues for this year's festival: