Following Beijing, Austin and London the prestigious 2018 Menuhin Competition will be held in Geneva in April. In colaboration with the Competition we have put together a weekend filled with music and the arts in this elegant city and if you love the violin there really isn't any other place to be!
We stay 4 nights in the beautiful 4* Hotel Tiffany and our music programme kicks off on Thursday evening with the amazingly talented and equally entertaining Roby Lakatos lauded “the fastest-fingered fiddler in the world”. A direct descendent of János Bihari (1764-1827), the most celebrated Gypsy band leader of the early 19th century who directly inspired the Gypsy music of Liszt and later Brahms in his Hungarian Dances, Lakatos is equally impressive performing classical music as he is playing jazz and in his own Hungarian folk idiom. The evening begins with a performance by Addison Frei, the winner of the Montreux Jazz Piano Competition 2017, who performs a short programme including an homage to the iconic collaboration between Menuhin and Grappelli.
On Friday afternoon we have the opportunity to attend a masterclass with Maxim Vengerov and this evening we attend the 'Junior Final' in Geneva's beautiful Victoria Concert Hall when the 5 junior finalists join the L'Orchestre de Chambre de Genève and each direct a movement of Vivaldi's Four Seasons.
On Saturday evening The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Julian Rachlin are joined by four of the worlds finest young violinists for the Senior Final of the competition. Each finalist will choose to perform one of the following concerti:
Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5 in A, K. 219
Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 63
Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 61
On Sunday afternoon we attend the Closing Gala Concert 'A celebration of the brilliance of the violin' when Julian Rachlin, Maxim Vengerov, Soyoung Yoon and Ilya Gringolts are joined by the winners of the Junior and Senior competitions and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for a concert programme spanning 200 years of violin wizardry including:
Mozart Overture: The Marriage of Figaro
Vivaldi Concerto from The Four Seasons
Kreisler Liebesfreud & Liebesleid from 3 Old Viennese Dances
Vivaldi Concerto for Four Violins in B minor, RV 580
Tchaikovsky Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture
When not at our concerts we have a full programme of sightseeing in Geneva and a visit to a violin-maker in the city.
Flight times from Heathrow (20kg baggage included):
- Thursday 19th April Heathrow T5 - Geneva 1135 - 1420 BA
- Monday 23rd April Geneva - Heathrow T5 1515 - 1600 BA
Flight times from Gatwick (pre-reserved seats and 20kg baggage included):
- Thursday 19th April Gatwick North - Geneva 1335 - 1615 Easyjet
- Monday 23rd April Geneva - Gatwick North 1600 - 1630 Easyjet
Flight times from Manchester (pre-reserved seats and 20kg baggage included):
- Thursday 19th April Manchester T1 - Geneva 1050 - 1340 Easyjet
- Monday 23rd April Geneva - Manchester T1 1415 - 1505 Easyjet
