A couple of days late, but...
"Happy birthday to you, / Happy birthday to you, / Happy birthday dear Verbier Festival, / Happy birthday to you!"
It's a special birthday year for the starriest of Swiss classical music festivals. Ten years ago, the little town in the mountains marked the first decade of its summer arts festival's existence with a concert featuring a remarkable eight pianos (all on stage at once), preceded by 13 top string players.
On that occasion, musicians of the magnitude of Martha Argerich, James Levine, Evgeny Kissin, Mikhail Pletnev and Lang Lang gathered in the tent that served as the main hall to play special arrangements--including, of course, "Happy Birthday."
This time, and now in their new permanent concert hall, Verbier went even bigger.
A whole solar system of classical stars were on the bill, more than could be seen (or afforded) in an entire season for most orchestra seasons.
So, on one evening in late July 2013, some lucky concert-goers could--in answer to the question "Who are you going to see tonight?"--have answered (deep breath): "Lera Auerbach, Nicholas Angelich, Emanuel Ax, Yuri Bashmet, Khatia Buniatishvili, Gautier Capuçon, Renaud Capuçon, David Aaron Carpenter, Vilde Frang, Martin Fröst, Ilya Gringolts, Leonidas Kavakos, Evgeny Kissin, Leigh Mesh, Mischa Maisky, Mikhail Pletnev, Menahem Pressler, Thomas Quasthoff, Quatuor Ebène, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Antoine Tamestit, Blythe The Engstroem, Daniil Trifonov and Yuja Wang."
Not a bad line-up.
And on August 1, Swiss National Day (commemorating the anniversary of the Pact of 1291, the origin of the Swiss Confederation, since 1891), Monty Alexander stopped by to wish Verbier his own variation on "Happy Birthday."
Verbier has an unusual attraction for top stars. It's an ethos of bringing major concerto musicians together to play chamber music with each other--people who rarely see their colleagues as they pass between orchestras and their halls like ships in the night--inviting them to stay in what is nearly a one-street town.
The Verbier Fest offers world-class artists the chance to hang out with their peers and to refresh themselves with intimate repertoire. So, the artists treat their stay as a working holiday, don't get paid much and enjoy the company, the music and the sensational views.
They also work hand-in-hand with students from the Verbier Academy, modelled on that of the older, storied Aspen Music Festival and School (in many ways Verbier's spiritual cousin).
Quite what Verbier--the brainchild of former DG executive Martin Engstroem and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra director general Avi Shoshani--will make of the festival's first quarter-century, when that rolls around, is anyone's guess.
How to top what must be one of the brightest classical concerts Switzerland has ever seen might be a problem. But, let's face it, it's a nice problem to have.
The Verbier Festival continues until August 4.
The final concerts feature Janine Jansen, Pletnev and the Verbier Festival Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano, with Natalie Dessay, Stella Grigorian and Shani Diluka.
