Venezia and Beyond – Music for the Planet I

It’s been three years since Anastasia Kobekina performed at our “Jeunes Etoiles” concert series on a Saturday morning in the Gstaad Chapel. Embraced by the audience, the cellist went on to win the “Jeunes Etoiles” Online Voting 2021 and has since become a regular at the Festival. What captivates is not just her exceptional sensitivity, but also her versatility across all musical styles — currently, she’s immersed in Baroque cello studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Frankfurt. Her “Venezia and Beyond” programme is a true reflection of this diversity: Anastasia Kobekina, accompanied by the Kammerorchester Basel and directed by Julia Schröder, brings four centuries of music to Saanen – from Barbara Strozzi to Caroline Shaw, including delightful compositions by Antonio Vivaldi.

How do we link the events of the “Music for the Planet” concert series to the topic of “Transformation”? Venice, a city of yearning and dreams, a place with a rich musical history, yet it also signifies mortality as a location haunted by uncontrollable forces. In her homage to Venice, Anastasia Kobekina contemplates past and contemporary notes, exploring dreamlike images and the profound theme of the transience of this lagoon city, whose future is challenged by rising sea levels.