Issue 5/2026 – Focus: «Encouragement»

SMZ (translation: AI) - Oct. 15, 2026

Focus

She inspires—with music and for music
How do professional female musicians rediscover the joy of playing their instruments? What effect can a thumb piano have on the mental well-being of inmates? Music therapist Joana Aderi knows the answers from her daily professional experience.

Grants for Musicians: What Really Matters When Awards Are Made
Do the same recipients always benefit from cultural funding? Do famous and well-connected people have an advantage? We’ve examined what’s really behind the most common fears and prejudices.

If you want to learn music, you have to make mistakes!
Learning to play an instrument inevitably comes with its share of challenges: the fear of making mistakes or of playing in front of an audience. Teachers share with us the methods they use to encourage their students.

Words of Encouragement from the Federal Office in Bern
For the 13th time, the federal government has presented the Swiss Music Awards: an unglamorous event, but a lucrative one for the winners. The criticism that arose in the award’s early years has long since died down.

(italics = summary in German of the original French article)

Critiques

New releases Books, Sound carrier, Websites, Notes, Movies

Echo

There is not enough space in the printed edition for all the texts, so they are listed here and linked to the corresponding online articles. Most of these were published before the printed edition appeared.

Many Swiss musicians are unemployed—but why is that, exactly?
According to a new survey, many musicians find themselves in a difficult situation one year after graduating. Meanwhile, music schools often struggle to fill open positions.

Festival Between Mountains: Between the Concert Hall and the Dance Floor
The Between Mountains festival took place for the second time in Hölstein, Basel-Landschaft. Classical soloists and ensembles shared the stage with live electronic acts and DJs.

A Perfect Imbalance
There aren’t even a thousand places in the city of Geneva dedicated to building, repairing, selling, and everything else related to guitars. Just a few stores and luthiers—you can count them on one hand. But when it comes to classical guitars, the go-to place is Jacques Vincenti’s workshop.

Gotthelf's Spider Sings, Dances, and Celebrates
«Code Word: Spider» by the Biel Youth Theater brings together amateurs and professionals, seniors and children. Wednesday's premiere was met with enthusiasm.

He wanted to make music visible
Conductor, concert promoter, and a decidedly outspoken music educator: An obituary for Armin Brunner, who passed away on August 12 at the age of 93.

How Sebastian Nordmann Brings Music to the Streets of Lucerne
This year's Lucerne Festival, held in August and September, featured a number of unusual formats. The new artistic director, Sebastian Nordmann, hopes this will help attract new audiences.

A Wonderful Discovery of Musical Artifacts in the Upper Engadine
The Upper Engadine Cultural Archive in Zuoz houses one of the largest private collections of 18th-century instrumental sheet music in Switzerland. It has since been cataloged for RISM (Répertoire International des Sources Musicales).