Rhine Valley Music Festival
Concerts in historic buildings along the banks of the Rhine
- Private concerts with artists of the highest calibre in a variety of historic buildings along the Rhine.
- Musicians and ensembles are among the finest in Switzerland and Germany.
- Most of the venues are of the same period as the music performed in them, and in some cases the links are more specific.
- The audience lives on a modern and comfortable ship chartered exclusively for the week, disembarking for concerts or to explore historic towns along the river.
- There are talks by a historian and a musicologist.
- Admission to the concerts is exclusive to those who take a package which includes practically everything – see right.
coming around for the seventh time since 1997, the 2009 Rhine Valley Music Festival has an outstanding line-up of artists including Andreas Scholl, Stephan Loges, Natalie Clein, the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, Cantus Cölln, the Amphion Octet and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra.
The concerts are further enhanced by the venues. Many are small, some are of the same period as the music performed within, others are rarely used as concert spaces, all of which lead to an informality and intimacy of musical communication between players and audience which engenders an intense artistic experience.
Most of the music is German or in some way relates to the territory through which the festival passes. Haydn features prominently, it being the bicentenary of his death, and there is some English music too.
Exclusive Access
The concerts are effectively private, being exclusive to participants (maximum 150) who book a package which not only provides admission to all seven performances but also accommodation, all meals, flights from the UK (though this is optional), travel by river and road, talks and a range of other services.
Talks and lectures
The spoken word contributes to the audience’s experience and is an important ingredient of the festival. There are daily talks by the musicologist
Roderick Swanston and by
Timothy Blanning, Professor of Modern History at Cambridge.
Luxurious River-cruiser
To this exceptional artistic experience is added a further pleasure: the comfort and convenience of a
first-class river cruiser, chartered exclusively for the festival audience. The MS Helvetia II was launched in 2006 and is one of the most modern and comfortable passenger ships on European waters.
Acting as both hotel and principal means of transport, it enables passengers to attend all the concerts and see some of the finest art and architecture in the region without having to change hotel or drive long distances.
The Rhine is one of the shortest of the great rivers of the world, but probably no other has served such a prominent role in shaping the history and culture of a continent. As a trading route along the north-south, the Rhine brought prosperity to the region and a degree of cultural unity to different peoples and nations dispersed along its length. But for those who wished to travel its east-west axis the river presented a major obstacle, and so was the scene of tension and conflict throughout history.
Stretches of the river are also beautiful, the Middle Rhine especially being flanked by vine-clad hills, virtually every peak being topped by a castle. There is time to explore some of the lovely towns and villages along its course and to see much art and architecture of the highest quality.