Welcome to the menuhin festival Academy

When Yehudi Menuhin founded our festival in 1957, he did so with a conviction that music was not only for the concert hall but for life itself. He believed passionately in the passing on of knowledge: “Teaching is not a distraction from music – it is the continuation of music by other means.” That spirit is the heart of the Menuhin Festival Academy.

Here in Gstaad, the next generation of musicians meets the legacy of Menuhin in its most living form. The Academy offers not just intensive solo and chamber music coaching with world-renowned artists, but also something Yehudi himself exemplified: the courage to step on stage alongside students, to share music in the moment, to learn as equals. At the Festival, participants will not only study — they will perform with us.

We are proud that Thomas Hampson, one of the great voices and thinkers of our time, now leads our Academy Voice program. Sir András Schiff, one of the most profound pianists and mentors in the world today, directs the Piano Academy, continuing Menuhin’s vision of depth and integrity in music-making. A highlight of this season is the continuation of our collaboration with Jaap van Zweden and our Conducting Academy, which will lead to a three-year agreement. And Pinchas Zukerman, legendary violinist and teacher, joins us as a visiting professor, offering young artists the rare chance to work with a true master.

I myself, as Artistic Director & Intendant of the Festival, am committed to taking an active role: to coach, to collaborate, and to continue Menuhin’s tradition of guiding and inspiring.

But the Menuhin Festival Academy goes beyond music lessons. Today’s young artists face a world far more complex than in Menuhin’s day. We offer insights into producing, streaming, management, sponsorship, and media — the realities of a modern career. Too often, musicians leave college unprepared for these challenges. Here, they are addressed head-on, with the same seriousness as music itself.

Our Academy is not simply a series of masterclasses. It is a community, a laboratory, a place where talent and imagination can thrive in one of the most beautiful alpine landscapes on earth. As Menuhin said: “Music creates order out of chaos; for rhythm imposes unanimity upon disparity, melody imposes continuity upon disjointedness, harmony imposes compatibility upon incompatibles.”

That is our task today: to prepare musicians not only for the stage, but for the world.

Daniel Hope
Artistic director