Blog

In the short articles of our blog, various authors reflect the activities in the Musikdorf Ernen.

A treasure in Niederernen, and insights from Binn

«Pray to St. Anthony!» Not being Catholic myself, it was thanks to dear Mrs. Simonato, the Italian woman who helped us with the children when I went back to work, that I knew the a...

The best of Baroque and Beaumont

Tuesday evening marked the fourth of this year’s Baroque concert series, one traditionally performed in front of the magnificent high altar (1758-61) of Ernen’s parish church of St...

From the gorge to the gallows: a casual ramble

Anyone who returns to Ernen year after year invariably notices that in the town’s infrastructure is forever being improved, that the area’s cultural and historical highlights are i...

A Dance Film and Jazz Sound Join Forces

As much a joint venture as it was pioneer project, a dance film and jazz concert recently celebrated its world première for the large audience in the Ernen town hall. It tapped the...

Quand on dit que la musique adoucit les mœurs…

Aujourd’hui, la programmation musicale des orchestres et des festivals est surtout dictée par les conventions et par les impératifs financiers. À l’affiche, on trouve, à côté du no...

„It’s more complicated than that!“

Literaturseminar im Festival Musikdorf Ernen: Viel mehr als die Summe seiner Teile!

Donna Leon und Judith Flanders halten seit mehreren Jahren gemeinsam einen Literaturkurs als ...

Sally Beamish: Composer, Violist, and Mistress of Multitasking

Watch Sally Beamish''s work "Hill Stanzas", recorded 2017 in Ernen

CD's with works by Sally Beamish are available in our CD shop ("Impressionen" 2015 and 2018)

One of Musikdorf Erne...

The Sepp Blatter Foundation awards a substantial prize

The Sepp Blatter Foundation recently awarded a sum of CHF 25,000 to the Musikfdorf Ernen in acknowledgement of its efforts, achievements, and the enormously positive resonance of i...

Alasdair Beatson – der Virtuose am Flügel

Er kommt aus Schottland, meinem Lieblingsland. Sein leicht gekräuseltes hellbraunes Haar ist ganz leicht nach vorne ins Gesicht gekämmt – so schien es mir – wie bei Komponisten ode...

Chef Klaus Leuenberger: The Same Kind of Cooking, but Better

Klaus Leuenberger, formerly chef at the Restaurant St Georg on the Dorfplatz, has taken over the helm at the ErnerGarten in the village’s all-new Generationshaus. I asked him to sh...

The Whispering of Wood − Ernen’s Precious Legacy

Wood, if you stop to think of it, has been man’s best friend in the world. It held him in his cradle, went to war as the gunstock in his hand, was the frame of the bed he came to r...

Baroque at its Best: A Seasoned Configuration does Ernen Proud

Wrapped in white tarps and heavily scaffolded, Ernen’s lovely parish church St. Georg might easily be mistaken today for a Christo intervention, and entitled something like “Wrappe...

Jules and Yolanda Wyden: Tales of old Ernen and a Story of Bells

It wasn’t easy to find the doorbell. Fact is, there wasn’t a doorbell. I had called to ask if a visit was in order at all: I’d been encouraged to go, but I knew Jules and his wife ...

The Gommerstuba in Niederernen – Landmark of fine French cuisine

Lars Dederscheck, chef at the Gommerstuba in Niederernen, took time off to talk about the fine establishment where his classic French cooking is king.

You took over here only on...

Heiligkreuz: Scenic Hike, Pilgrimage Chapel, and Warm Hospitality

Yesterday, my daughter Hallie and I took the local bus up the valley to start a short hike from Binn out to Heiligkreuz, the site of a popular pilgrimage chapel, and home to a cozy...

Celebrating Ten Years of the Zauberwald: Magic for all Ages

With the forest floor covered in a thick carpet of evergreen needles, “the patter of little feet” may have been harder to hear in the Zauberwald (Magic Forest) on 16 July, but that...

Bee-yard in the Binntal: A Newly-launched Landschaftspark Project

A year ago, Peter Clausen kindly spoke with me about his Gemeinschaftsgarten project, the Ernen village community garden that I covered in this blog (click here to read the blog of...

A “Heidenhaus” in Mühlebach: One Family’s Treasure Chest

Don’t you meet people under the strangest of circumstances? Last Saturday, I took part in a moonlit-walk between Ernen and Mühlebach that ended at “Amy’s Schafstube,” a delightful ...

Whoever writes gives life: A Seminar in Biography

This week in mid-July marks a red-letter event in Ernen’s literary summer: the annual one-week “Biography” seminar conducted by the renowned German psychologist and author, Dr. Bri...

Ewald Gorsatt: Mineral Spotter with a Mission

The Gorsatt family enjoys a long history in the Binn Valley (“Binntal”), and Ewald Gorsatt kindly spoke to me this week about the passionate hobby he turned into his profession. Hi...