Music The Settimane Musicali festival becomes Classic Ascona
Settimane Muscali will be known as Classic Ascona in future. The Ticino classical music festival is starting its 81st edition under a new name and with a budget that has doubled to 1.7 million francs. Significantly more concerts are planned in a shorter period of time.
28.01.2026, 12:00
SDA
With the 81st edition, the Settimane Musicali Ascona will open a new chapter, the organizers wrote on Wednesday. This new chapter is characterized not least by the new artistic director Christoph Müller. He previously worked for the Gstaad Menuhin Festival for 20 years. But that's not all: the festival is changing its name and announcing a new image - "a consistent further development of a success story spanning more than eighty years", according to the press release.
The aim is to anchor the festival as a "sustainable and competitive cultural project" in Swiss and European musical life in the long term. To this end, it will be "condensed". During the three weeks from September 18 to October 10, it will offer around 50 events at over 20 venues in Locarno. Last year, there were 15 concerts in one and a half months.
New interdisciplinary formats
This year, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Camerata Salzburg, the Basel Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana will be among those performing. Soprano Cecilia Bartoli, accordionist and composer Richard Galliano, violinist Nemanja Radulović and piano duo Arthur & Lucas Jussen are also expected to perform.
In addition to classical formats, the festival is now also focusing on interdisciplinary formats and combining music with literature, cuisine and architecture "at iconic locations in the region", as the organizers promise. Specifically, there will be events on the Brissago Islands, Monte Verità and in the church in Mogno designed by Mario Botta.
