For two weeks every summer the Verbier Festival returns to town, hosting one of the most outstanding musical events in the world. We are lucky to live and work in a place that welcomes musicians across all genres year-round but for this fortnight the emphasis is on classical music, and it takes place at a time of year where the Swiss Alps really do look their best.
The first Verbier Festival took place in 1994 and since then some of the biggest names in classical music have played and taken part in the many other events that take place in town. Some of the world-renowned artists to have played include Yuja Wang (pianist), Joshua Bell (violinist), Valery Gergiev (conductor) and Evgeny Kissin (pianist). It is a key event in the 2023 calendar, both in European classical music events and in Verbier, and attracts performers and audiences from all around the world.
Performances and recitals across all musical genres take place in town and on the mountain in some of the most stunning locations. Verbier Festival also has an Academy program to develop and showcase younger talent so you could also end up seeing the next superstar.
We’ve captured the building process of the main Salle des Combins concert hall (pictured below). This is a non-permanent venue seating around 1,500 people located near the sports centre, but there are venues all over Verbier including the church, cinema and many of our favourite restaurants and bars. Spot the amazing snow-capped mountains in the background!
There’s plenty to see, do and of course listen to, and lots of child friendly activities too, so we thought we’d make some suggestions for you below:
Performances
Check out as many performances as possible, including those up-and-coming artists (even try to get to some of the Academy events!).
Friday 14th July: Opening concert of Verbier Festival Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta, and Yuja Wang.
Saturday 22nd July: Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band concert at La Chaux (on the mountain)
Monday 24th July: 30th Anniversary Gala Concert with over 50 artists who have performed previously, some as Academy participants.
Throughout: ‘Music on the Streets’ concerts and original shows by street musicians around Verbier.
Workshops and masterclasses
Learn from the best musicians in the world by heading to one of the festival’s 90+ workshops and masterclasses
Explore Verbier!
The great thing about being here in the summer is that you can see everything that is covered in snow through the winter – hiking trails, viewpoints, restaurant and café terraces. As always, our resort concierge team will be on hand to help make any suggestions of things to see and do with their local knowledge and favourite spots, and we can help to arrange a mountain guide if you want to really maximise your time.
Whatever you choose to do, you can be sure that you will have an incredible experience of Verbier during these wonderful summer weeks in the Swiss mountains. We will be turning our radios off, keeping the windows open for a couple of weeks and can’t wait to see you in Verbier to share our sounds of July.
We still have some availability for the second week of the festival so don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Sales team if you would like a last-minute Verbier Music Festival getaway.
