According to Suisseculture, the copying levies are a system managed professionally and pragmatically by the collecting societies. They are said to capture the value generated by protected content. In a recent press release, Suisseculture therefore expressed its satisfaction that the National Council’s Committee on Science, Education, and Culture (WBK) has recommended rejecting a motion by SVP National Council member Thomas Aeschi. Aeschi wants to abolish the «unfair and outdated model of the copying levy» via a parliamentary initiative.

Suisseculture, on the other hand, advocates for simplifying the data collection process and reviewing the compensation amount. Given the actual volume of use of protected content, the association considers the current amount to be «very modest.».

Suisseculture recommends that the National Council reject Aeschi’s motion and thus follow the recommendation of the WBK. However, it recommends adopting a postulate titled «Modernization of the Copying Levy,» which calls for further clarification.  Only then should a decision be made regarding any potential need for legislative action.

In the Percussion Classic category, Victor Sparleanu from Zug took first place ahead of Mauro Wigger (LU) and Aaron Tschopp (BE), while Leo Aschwanden from Zurich won the Percussion Modern category.

In the Wind Instruments category, Célestine Crelier from Alle (JU) was named the 2026 winner on the flute in the woodwind category. She prevailed over Juliette Duay (flute, LU) and Corine Schnyder (clarinet, LU). Nathan Goumaz from Châtonnaye (FR) secured victory in the brass instruments category on the euphonium. Additional podium spots went to Antoine Zeiter (euphonium, VS) and Florin Messmer (bass trombone, SG).

The Swiss Army Symphony Wind Orchestra, conducted by Carlo Balmelli, accompanied the six soloists in the Wind Instruments category. The juries consisted of Iwan Jenny, Yves Kolly, and Laurent Zufferey for the percussionists, and Isabelle Ruf-Weber, Felix Hauswirth, and Oliver Waespi for the wind players.

The Swiss Wind Band Association (SBV) is an umbrella organization that brings together 29 member and partner associations as well as nearly 2,000 wind bands. With a total of approximately 54,000 active musicians, the SBV is the largest amateur cultural association in Switzerland.

Born in Munich in 1973, Jörg Widmann first studied clarinet and then composition with Kay Westermann, Wilfried Hiller, Hans Werner Henze, Heiner Goebbels, and Wolfgang Rihm. His works are premiered and regularly performed by the world’s leading orchestras, such as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the New York Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Cleveland Orchestra. Conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Kent Nagano, Christian Thielemann, Sir Simon Rattle, and Andris Nelsons bring his music to stages around the world.

Roche Commissions is a collaboration between Roche, the Lucerne Festival, and the Lucerne Festival Academy. Since 2003, Roche has commissioned a new work by an outstanding contemporary composer every two years, based on recommendations from the artistic director of the Lucerne Festival Academy. The commissions aim to facilitate the creation of musical works «that go beyond the conventional and offer a source of intellectual stimulation and challenge.».

The composer collaborates with several leading scientists from Roche, and after two years, the commissioned work premieres at the Lucerne Festival in the summer. The Roche Commissions originated as a partnership between Roche, the Cleveland Orchestra, and Carnegie Hall. The program is now carried on in collaboration with the Lucerne Festival and the Lucerne Festival Academy.

The challenge was to create a composition in which a theme from a work by Paul Huber is reworked in the spirit of a metamorphosis. The jury agreed that Rossier’s work «Ab Uno» met the criteria most convincingly. The competition was organized in honor of the renowned Swiss composer Paul Huber, whose 25th anniversary of his death falls this year. The winning composition will receive its world premiere on Sunday, September 13, 2026, at the Kurtheater in Baden, performed by the Swiss Army Symphonic Wind Orchestra in the presence of Théo Rossier.

According to the SBV’s press release, eleven participants from across Europe—including one woman—took on the challenge. A panel of experts consisting of Emilie Chabrol, Stéphane Delley, and Felix Hauswirth independently reviewed and evaluated the anonymized works based on the specified requirements.

Théo Rossier earned a bachelor’s degree in classical music with a focus on composition from the Bern University of the Arts. He is currently continuing his training as a wind orchestra conductor at the Freiburg Conservatory. He is the winner of the 2022 European Brass Band Composition Competition with his piece «Stendhal’s Syndrome.».

With its 29 member associations, 1,972 clubs, and a total of 54,000 members, the Swiss Wind Music Association (SBV) is the largest amateur cultural association in Switzerland.

Miriam Schmidt-Wetzel has been serving as interim head of the Department of Cultural Analysis and Outreach at ZHdK since December 2025 and is a member of the university’s executive board. She is an art educator and professor of subject-specific pedagogy, art, and design. She will assume her new position on August 1, 2027. Until she takes office, Hansuli Matter, director of the Department of Design at ZHdK, will serve as vice rector. The Office of the Vice Rector for Education is ZHdK’s strategic management unit for all matters related to academic programs, teaching, and learning.

Beate Böckem Gottfried is an art historian and a higher education and research administrator. She has many years of experience in the development and implementation of strategic, organizational development, and transformation processes. As Head of the Research Office at ZHdK, she has been responsible since 2018 for establishing and further developing central research structures, research and knowledge communication, and ZHdK’s national and international networking. Beate Böckem Gottfried will assume her new position on September 1, 2026.

According to its press release, the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) has consolidated its most important responsibilities into two new vice-rectorates. With approximately 2,100 bachelor’s and master’s students, the ZHdK is one of Europe’s largest art universities. Its academic and research program encompasses the fields of art education, cultural critique, design, film, fine arts, music, dance, theater, and transdisciplinarity.

One of the most significant changes concerns education in the fields of music and the performing arts (theater, dance, and circus arts). Starting with the 2026–2027 school year, the cantonal contribution toward the tuition costs of accredited schools will be increased from 40 to 50 percent. From now on, municipalities must contribute at least 10 percent, while the Valais delegation’s share of the Loterie Romande remains at 7 percent.

In the future, the portion of the cost to be covered by parents will be capped at 33 percent throughout the canton, regardless of the families’ municipality of residence. For approximately 4,500 students, the annual cost of their music education will be capped at just over 1,000 francs. The canton states that this new model promotes more equitable access to arts education.

The new law is also intended to strengthen the framework conditions for cultural professions. For projects supported by cultural funding, cultural professionals will henceforth be compensated based on the wage recommendations of umbrella organizations recognized by the canton. Economic, social, and environmental sustainability will also be taken into account within the legal framework from now on.

Original article:
https://www.vs.ch/de/web/communication/e/com-et-media/10108/49977144

Born in 1983, Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer studied violin and conducting at the Basel University of Music, as well as musicology and economics at the University of Basel. She furthered her conducting studies with Sylvia Caduff and Sir Roger Norrington and as an assistant conductor to Claudio Abbado. Andermatt Music is the concert organizer for the Andermatt Concert Hall, which brings music to Switzerland’s highest-altitude concert hall—designed specifically for symphony concerts—through a year-round concert season.

The establishment of the nonprofit Andermatt Music Foundation this summer creates «the conditions to strengthen Andermatt Music’s financial foundation and facilitate new partnerships,» according to the press release. The foundation is intended to pool private and institutional support and help ensure that Andermatt Music can continue to offer a high-caliber, broadly supported program in the future. In addition to the founder, the foundation’s board of directors includes Uri Council of States member Heidi Zgraggen and Uri Council of States member Josef Dittli as president, as well as former Uri cantonal council member Beat Jörg and Lucerne entrepreneur Markus Schmid, who are all committed to this cause.

As co-founder and music director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer has written one of the most beautiful chapters in the history of the international orchestral world, according to the Menuhin Festival’s press release. Through worldwide tours and a series of critically acclaimed recordings—including numerous interpretations and complete recordings of Beethoven—he has also earned an exceptional reputation as an interpreter of the genius from Bonn.

The award is an initiative of the Beethoven House in Bonn and the Wegeler Wineries, supported by leading European wine producers. The award is inspired by a “friendship glass” that Ludwig van Beethoven gave to his childhood friend from Bonn, Franz Gerhard Wegeler, in 1816, which is now on display in the permanent exhibition at the Beethoven House.

According to the press release, the city’s Cultural Commission honors «their distinctive musical language and virtuosity.» Evelyn and Kristina Brunner were among the outstanding representatives of contemporary Swiss folk music. With the Schwyzerörgeli, cello, and double bass, they combine tradition and innovation, says City Councilmember Katharina Ali-Oesch, head of the Department of Education, Sports, and Culture.

The two sisters, Evelyn and Kristina Brunner, have been playing together since early childhood. Both began playing the Schwyzerörgeli when they were in kindergarten. They received their own Schwyzerörgeli at a very young age and developed a deep passion for traditional Swiss folk music. Their projects include, among others, a collaboration with dialect writer Pedro Lenz, a trio with Spanish violinist Gabriel Miranda, and the string quartet Eiger, Mönch & Urschwyz.

After graduating from high school, Kristina Brunner studied cello and Schwyzerörgeli at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts – Music and teaches at the Gürbetal Regional Music School as well as in her studio in Lucerne. Her sister Evelyn also studied jazz double bass, music and movement education, and folk music in Lucerne. She teaches at the Thun Regional Music School and in her studio in Spiez.

Armin Brunner studied conducting and composition at the Zurich University of the Arts and served as artistic director of the Neue Zürcher Kammeroper from 1953 to 1973. In 1971, he founded the Musikszenische Studio Zürich. From 1979 to 1998, he served as music director for DRS television, where he collaborated with television director Adrian Marthaler to develop narrative music productions and other musical television formats.

From the summer of 2000 through 2009, Brunner served as artistic director of the Migros Culture Percentage’s Klubhaus concerts.

The appointment comes after he was named General Music Director of the Stuttgart State Opera and State Orchestra, effective with the 2026–27 season—making him the first Australian to hold this position at an opera house with a history spanning more than 400 years.

Carter previously served as music director at both the Hamburg State Opera and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and served as chief conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra from 2016 to 2019. From 2018 to 2021, he was principal conductor at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt and with the Carinthian Symphony Orchestra, and most recently, from 2021 to 2025, he served as principal conductor and co-opera director at the Bühnen Bern.

The jury decided to «award a double prize in recognition of the outstanding talent of both young conductors.» In 2026, an Audience Choice Award was also introduced for the first time. During the final concert, the audience voted digitally for their favorite. With 23 percent of the votes, Gonzalo Alacrón Burriel from Spain won the Audience Award.

With the Menuhin Conducting Prize, the Menuhin Festival Gstaad continues its longstanding commitment to supporting young conductors. Launched in 2015 as the Neeme Järvi Prize, the award was presented in 2026 with a «refined focus and a stronger emphasis on the long-term development of young talent.» This year, ten young conductors worked with Jaap van Zweden, Alexander Shelley, Johannes Schlaefli, and Stef Collignon as part of the Conducting Academy. The highlight of the master class was the final concert in the Gstaad Festival Tent.

The German conductor and composer is currently music director of the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra (KCS). During the 2018–19 season, he served as Season Creative Chair of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich. He also served as principal conductor of the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra from 2016 to 2018.

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1968 by cellist James Arkatov, modeled after the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, to give some 40 members of a film studio orchestra the opportunity to perform the classical repertoire. The ensemble’s first principal conductor was Sir Neville Marriner.

Hayato Sumino began as a musical prodigy and gained fame at the age of 13 through his YouTube channel «Cateen.» Winning the Grand Prix at the 2018 PTNA Piano Competition marked the start of his professional career. His debut album followed in 2019 Passion and international concert performances. At the 2021 Chopin Competition, he reached the semifinals and set a streaming record with 45,000 live viewers.

In the years that followed, he established himself worldwide as a concert pianist, performing with renowned orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, and the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, and releasing successful albums such as Human Universe (2024) and Chopin Orbit (2026). At the same time, the audience on his YouTube channel grew to over 1.5 million subscribers, making him one of the few figures to combine classical music and digital reach at the highest level.

According to a press release from the Menuhin Festival, the Olivier Berggruen Prize is dedicated to the long-term support of outstanding musical talent and has now been awarded for the fifth time. In addition to a concert as part of the festival program, the award includes a trophy specially designed by contemporary artist Olympia Scarry.

Robert Ernst Castellitz is succeeding Stefan Vogel: He will become Director of Operations and a member of the executive board of the Lucerne Theater. His areas of responsibility include planning, production, stage operations, and infrastructure. A key task will be ensuring the smooth operation of the theater in the theater and workshop buildings, which are in need of renovation.

A native of Vienna, he has many years of experience at renowned theaters and cultural institutions in Austria, Switzerland, the U.S., and Germany, according to the Lucerne Theater. He served as artistic director at the Theater Freiburg and the Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf, and was also deputy artistic director in Freiburg. His career has taken him to the Burgtheater, the Vienna State Opera, and the Ruhrtriennale, where he served as Director of Artistic Management. Most recently, he served as Head of Event Management and Authorized Signatory at Gasteig München GmbH (2019–2023) and, starting in 2024, as a freelance cultural manager, curator, artistic project manager, and coach.

The management team of the Lucerne Theater is now once again fully staffed, consisting of co-artistic directors Katja Langenbach and Wanda Puvogel, financial director Adrian Balmer, and operations director Robert Ernst Castellitz.