Conflict and Triumph – Inner Emigration IV – Gstaad Festival Orchestra II ID:
Symphony Concert
Saturday, 16. August 2025
7:30 p.m., Gstaad Festival Tent
Shostakovich ironically described his Fifth Symphony as “the creative response of a Soviet artist to justified criticism”. The symphony was written shortly after the scandal surrounding his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, which the Pravda – likely under Stalin’s influence – dismissed as “leftist radical lawlessness” and issued veiled threats: “One plays with hermetics, a game that could end badly.” In the midst of Stalin’s purges, Shostakovich, fearing for his life, was forced to withdraw his Fourth Symphony, which had been too stylistically close to the opera. Instead, in 1937, he composed a more conventional work: his Fifth Symphony. Yet beneath its classical surface, there is a powerful protest against tyranny – a “triumph of art”, and, by extension, a triumph of life itself. Jaap van Zweden and the Gstaad Festival Orchestra will bring energy to these intensely emotional fifty minutes of music, akin to the freshness of Mendelssohn, who was already a brilliant pianist at just fourteen. On August 16, the Jussen brothers, Lucas and Arthur, who are only slightly older, will continue their remarkable journey with another stunning performance, cementing their status as an essential part of the Festival and our hearts.
Sustainable to the festival: Our bus service is at your disposal from Wangen an der Aare, Bern and Lausanne for this concert.
Bus tickets here
This concert is supported by
BABETTE HERBERT & MARKUS KAPPELER
BABETTE HERBERT & MARKUS KAPPELER
My concert visit
Arrival by public transport
We recommend that you plan your journey to Gstaad train station. From there, it is around a 15-minute walk to the Festival Tent. Alternatively, the «Gstaad, Sportzentrum» post bus stop is located directly at the venue. Please take note of each concert’s duration to plan your return journey by public transport accordingly.
Our tips: Use our festival bus, which will take you directly to the Festival Tent from two directions: Further information can be found here.
Benefit from a 20% discount on your public transportation journey: Details can be found here.
Our tips: Use our festival bus, which will take you directly to the Festival Tent from two directions: Further information can be found here.
Benefit from a 20% discount on your public transportation journey: Details can be found here.
Arriving by private car
If you are arriving by car, please note that it is not possible to drive directly to the venue.
However, there are several parking lots available in the surrounding area, just a few minutes' walk from the Festival Tent.
Our tip: Use the parking lot at the Talstation Wispile and take the free shuttle service from there, which will take you comfortably to the entrance of the venue. From Saanen, please follow the signs with the Park + Ride symbol. Overview of parking options
However, there are several parking lots available in the surrounding area, just a few minutes' walk from the Festival Tent.
Our tip: Use the parking lot at the Talstation Wispile and take the free shuttle service from there, which will take you comfortably to the entrance of the venue. From Saanen, please follow the signs with the Park + Ride symbol. Overview of parking options
{'artists': [{'awards': [],
'instruments': ['Piano'],
'name': 'Lucas & Arthur Jussen',
'sort': 0},
{'awards': [],
'instruments': ['Ensemble'],
'name': 'Gstaad Festival Orchestra',
'sort': 1},
{'awards': ['Chief Conductor of the Gstaad Festival Orchestra'],
'instruments': ['Conductor'],
'name': 'Jaap van Zweden',
'sort': 2}],
'bus_transfer': {'available': True,
'description': 'Sustainable to the festival: Our bus service '
'is at your disposal from Wangen an der Aare, '
'Bern and Lausanne for this concert.<br />\r\n'
' ',
'url': 'https://www.car-rouge.ch/reise/gstaad-menuhin-festival-academy-2/'},
'description': '<p>Shostakovich ironically described his<em> Fifth '
'Symphony</em> as “the creative response of a Soviet '
'artist to justified criticism”. The symphony was '
'written shortly after the scandal surrounding his '
'opera <em>Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, which '
'the Pravda</em> – likely under Stalin’s '
'influence – dismissed as “leftist radical '
'lawlessness” and issued veiled threats: “One '
'plays with hermetics, a game that could end badly.” In '
'the midst of Stalin’s purges, Shostakovich, fearing for '
'his life, was forced to withdraw his <em>Fourth '
'Symphony</em>, which had been too stylistically close to the '
'opera. Instead, in 1937, he composed a more conventional '
'work: his <em>Fifth Symphony</em>. Yet beneath its classical '
'surface, there is a powerful protest against tyranny – '
'a “triumph of art”, and, by extension, a triumph '
'of life itself. Jaap van Zweden and the Gstaad Festival '
'Orchestra will bring energy to these intensely emotional '
'fifty minutes of music, akin to the freshness of Mendelssohn, '
'who was already a brilliant pianist at just fourteen. On '
'August 16, the Jussen brothers, Lucas and Arthur, who are '
'only slightly older, will continue their remarkable journey '
'with another stunning performance, cementing their status as '
'an essential part of the Festival and our hearts.</p>',
'event_id': 8066,
'has_any_future_events': False,
'has_any_ticket_links': True,
'hero_images': [{'alt': 'Testbild Jussen Header',
'position': 1,
'title': 'Marco Borggreve',
'url': '/_cmsbox_backends_/gmf/images/c198ff7093d49b814ef37a350c57ef17.jpeg'},
{'alt': 'Jaap van Zweden © Raphael Faux',
'position': 0,
'title': 'Raphael Faux',
'url': '/_cmsbox_backends_/gmf/images/fe016246158949a790fe716384fdf189.jpeg'}],
'hints': 'CHF 170/145/100/70',
'infos': '<div class="hinweiseContainer">\r\n'
'<details class="folding"><summary class="folding__less"> Arrival by '
'public transport </summary>\r\n'
'<div class="hinweisBody folding__more">We recommend that you plan '
'your journey to Gstaad train station. From there, it is around a '
'15-minute walk to the Festival Tent. Alternatively, the '
'«Gstaad, Sportzentrum» post bus stop is located '
'directly at the venue. Please take note of each concert’s '
'duration to plan your return journey by public transport '
'accordingly.<br />\r\n'
'Our tips: Use our festival bus, which will take you directly to the '
'Festival Tent from two directions: <a '
'href="https://www.gstaadmenuhinfestival.ch/en/service/your-visit/bus-service"> '
'Further information can be found here.</a><br />\r\n'
'Benefit from a 20% discount on your public transportation journey: '
'<a '
'href="https://www.gstaadmenuhinfestival.ch/en/service/your-visit/sbb-public-transport-ticket"> '
'Details can be found here.</a></div>\r\n'
'</details>\r\n'
'\r\n'
'<details class="folding"><summary class="folding__less"> Arriving '
'by private car </summary>\r\n'
'\r\n'
'<div class="hinweisBody folding__more">If you are arriving by car, '
'please note that it is not possible to drive directly to the '
'venue.<br />\r\n'
'However, there are several parking lots available in the '
'surrounding area, just a few minutes' walk from the Festival '
'Tent.<br />\r\n'
'Our tip: Use the parking lot at the Talstation Wispile and take the '
'free shuttle service from there, which will take you comfortably to '
'the entrance of the venue. From Saanen, please follow the signs '
'with the Park + Ride symbol. <a '
'href="https://www.gstaadmenuhinfestival.ch/en/service/your-visit/navigation-and-parking">Overview '
'of parking options </a></div>\r\n'
'</details>\r\n'
'</div>',
'main_location': 'Gstaad Festival Tent',
'main_start_date': datetime.datetime(2025, 8, 16, 19, 30, tzinfo=datetime.timezone(datetime.timedelta(seconds=7200))),
'over_title': 'Lucas & Arthur Jussen, Jaap van Zweden',
'overview_image': {'alt': 'Lucas und Arthur Jussen © Marco Borggreve',
'position': 3,
'title': 'Marco Borggreve',
'url': '/_cmsbox_backends_/gmf/images/500x375/9370db8f50e2b84ca36bec74cb9fbbb8.jpeg'},
'overview_image_src_set': {'alt': 'Lucas und Arthur Jussen © Marco Borggreve',
'position': 3,
'title': 'Marco Borggreve',
'url': '/_cmsbox_backends_/gmf/images/1000x750/9370db8f50e2b84ca36bec74cb9fbbb8.jpeg'},
'programs': ['<table class="program442hz">\r\n'
'\t<tbody>\r\n'
'\t\t<tr class="rowComposer">\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td colspan="2"><strong>Richard Strauss</strong> '
'(1864–1949)</td>\r\n'
'\t\t</tr>\r\n'
'\t\t<tr class="rowWork">\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td>“Don Juan”, tone poem, Op. 20</td>\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td style="text-align:right;">20'</td>\r\n'
'\t\t</tr>\r\n'
'\t\t<tr>\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td> </td>\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td style="text-align:right;"> </td>\r\n'
'\t\t</tr>\r\n'
'\t\t<tr class="rowComposer">\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td colspan="2"><strong>Felix Mendelssohn</strong> '
'(1809–1847)</td>\r\n'
'\t\t</tr>\r\n'
'\t\t<tr class="rowWork">\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td>Concerto for 2 Pianos in E Major, MWV O 5</td>\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td style="text-align:right;">30'</td>\r\n'
'\t\t</tr>\r\n'
'\t\t<tr>\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td> </td>\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td style="text-align:right;"> </td>\r\n'
'\t\t</tr>\r\n'
'\t\t<tr class="rowComposer">\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td colspan="2"><strong>Dmitri Schostakowitsch</strong> '
'(1906–1975)</td>\r\n'
'\t\t</tr>\r\n'
'\t\t<tr class="rowWork">\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td>Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47</td>\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td style="text-align:right;">45'</td>\r\n'
'\t\t</tr>\r\n'
'\t\t<tr class="rowTotal">\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td> </td>\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td style="text-align:right;"><strong>130' '
'</strong>(interval included)</td>\r\n'
'\t\t</tr>\r\n'
'\t</tbody>\r\n'
'</table>'],
'room': '',
'sponsor_info': 'This concert is supported by<br />\r\n'
'BABETTE HERBERT & MARKUS KAPPELER',
'start_time_location': [{'location': 'Gstaad Festival Tent',
'start_time': datetime.datetime(2025, 8, 16, 19, 30, tzinfo=datetime.timezone(datetime.timedelta(seconds=7200)))}],
'ticket_links': [{'is_future_event': False,
'sale_started': True,
'start_time': datetime.datetime(2025, 8, 16, 19, 30, tzinfo=datetime.timezone(datetime.timedelta(seconds=7200))),
'url': 'https://shop.menuhin.ch/en/event/155470'}],
'title': 'Conflict and Triumph – Inner Emigration IV – Gstaad Festival '
'Orchestra II',
'title2': 'Symphony Concert',
'topics': []}
Lucas & Arthur Jussen, Piano
Gstaad Festival Orchestra, Ensemble
Jaap van Zweden, Conductor
- Chief Conductor of the Gstaad Festival Orchestra
| Richard Strauss (1864–1949) | |
| “Don Juan”, tone poem, Op. 20 | 20' |
| Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) | |
| Concerto for 2 Pianos in E Major, MWV O 5 | 30' |
| Dmitri Schostakowitsch (1906–1975) | |
| Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47 | 45' |
| 130' (interval included) | |
CHF 170/145/100/70