8 pianists find work for idle hands at Verbier

8 pianists find work for idle hands at Verbier

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norman lebrecht

July 31, 2018

25th Anniversary Gala Verbier Festifal 2018.

Gioachino Rossini: William Tell

CASTING
Seong-Jin Cho | Pianist
Evgeny Kissin | Pianist
Mikhaïl Pletnev | Conductor , Pianist
Sir András Schiff | Conductor , Pianist
Sergei Babayan | Pianist
Daniil Trifonov | Pianist
Yuja Wang | Pianist
Denis Kozhukhin | Pianist

CONCERT
Verbier Festival 25th Anniversary Gala
Verbier Festival 2018.07.25

Comments

  • Alexander says:

    Verbier rocks this year 😉 Only Gergiev could do that ; thanks for posting, Norman, I shared it on FB 😉

  • Olassus says:

    Embarrassing!

  • Hilary says:

    Percy Grainger wrote some gorgeous multi piano/hand pieces. Would be a breath of fresh air if these stars were to stray into this territory.

  • Minutewaltz says:

    That’s fabulous. Thanks for posting Norman.

  • Geoff says:

    Did they get paid before playing?
    Was it cash in a green bag?
    Must have been a big bag.

  • Alex Davies says:

    Is it just me, or does Verbier get a disproportionately large amount of coverage on Slipped Disc? I know it’s got a reputation and attracts an all-star roster of artists, but it’s a two-week festival at ski resort. Compare the Proms: 75 concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, eight concerts at Cadogan Hall, more events at Imperial College Union, Alexandra Palace, the Roundhouse, and Lincoln Drill Hall, Proms in the Park events throughout the UK, around 40 orchestras and 300 individual artists, every concert live on BBC Radio 3, some concerts on BBC television, concerts attended by a spectacular 322,000 people last year, and ticket prices from £3.50 per concert for season ticket holders and £6 for day tickets. You would think that the world’s biggest classical music festival would get a bit more coverage.

    • Anon says:

      Something about Tanglewood would be nice, too. But Verbier apparently has all the drama.

      • Geoff says:

        And it sure has all the “stars”, but it is way above my very limited budget. I can afford the proms tho’, that is if I lived closer to the Albert Hall.

        • Alex Davies says:

          Indeed! Apart from the ticket prices, which are sky high, the main issue with Verbier, of course, is that only a couple of thousand people actually live there, meaning that virtually everybody who goes to the festival also has to be able to afford the cost of travel and accommodation, and accommodation in Verbier is not cheap. One other great thing about the Proms is that there are around 10 million people who live within easy commuting distance from central London, including a lot of people who live in some of the most deprived parts of the UK, and they can hear some of the best live classical music in the world for the price of a Big Mac meal and a McFlurry. I’m sure that Verbier is great, and I don’t begrudge people whose life choices have meant that they are in a position to go there, but most people can’t afford to spend a few hundred quid to go to Switzerland for a concert.

          • Saxon Broken says:

            Alex writes: “there are around 10 million people who live within easy commuting distance from central London”

            Er…I am pretty sure the true figure is more like 20-25 million.

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