Podcast

Festival radio program | Concert introduction podcast

What is the Musikdorf Ernen podcast?

The Musikdorf Ernen podcast offers a diverse and accessible insight into the programme and events of the Musikdorf Ernen festival. Broadcasts on baroque music, classical music, jazz and contemporary music are complemented by reports from the idyllic mountain village of Ernen, where artists, audience members and important people behind the scenes have their say. There are programmes on individual concerts, in which the programmes are presented in a well-founded and accessible manner. There are also programmes with interviews in which important figures from the festival have their say. The programmes are broadcast live on Radio RaBe and can also be listened to online as podcasts at any time from the date of production.

Who produces the Musikdorf Ernen podcast?

The Musikdorf Ernen podcast is a co-production between Musikdorf Ernen and the Bernese cultural and community radio station RaBe. The cultural and radio journalist Joseba Zbinden and the festival director and musicologist Jonathan Inniger are responsible for the content. Most of the programmes are produced in Radio RaBe's new professional radio studios in Bern.

When will the Musikdorf Ernen podcast be available?

The first programmes will be available from mid-May at the latest, when live broadcasts on Radio RaBe will also begin. Programmes from previous years can be listened to at any time.

Listen here

The Festival Radio Musikdorf Ernen on Radio RaBe / Podcast Musikdorf Ernen is possible through the friendly support of the Stiftung für Radio und Kultur Schweiz | SWISSPERFORM

Mel Bonis – Composer to Discover 2026

With the French composer Mel Bonis (1858–1937), Musikdorf Ernen launches the new format «Composer to Discover», to spotlight outstanding women composers from the past. In this live broadcast on Radio RaBe, Joseba Zbinden and Jonathan Inniger discussed the composer, her eventful life, and her beautiful music. Composer to Discover 2026 | Mel Bonis (1858–1937)

Jazz: Maki Namekawa | Keith Jarrett's «Köln Concert» (11. Juli)

Maki Namekawa performs Keith Jarrett’s famous 1975 «Köln Concert». It is one of the best-known musical works in recent music history. Namekawa has rehearsed Jarrett’s improvisation note for note, whilst remaining as faithful as possible to Jarrett’s artistic vision. In this programme, she explains what the «Köln Concert» means to her and the challenges involved in performing it. Jazz Concerts on 11 / 25 / 26 July and 5 August

Musical Meditations (Kammermusikfest 2-14 August)

Alasdair Beatson is the artistic director responsible for the concert programmes at the Kammermusikfest at Musikdorf Ernen. The pianist has been performing at the festival every summer for the past 15 years, and has been curating the musical programme for the concert series for the past eight years. In this programme, Alasdair Beatson talks about what he enjoys about his role and the opportunities and challenges presented by the Musikdorf Ernen Festival. Kammermusikfest from 2-14 August

Baroque Concert 1 (19 July)

Who were Pieter Hellendaal and Johann Gottlieb Goldberg? Mozart was by no means the only child prodigy of the 18th century. This introduction to the opening concert of the Baroque Weeks explores the lives of four other child prodigies. Baroque Concert 1 (19 July)

Baroque Concert 2 (22 July)

For his debut in Ernen, Nahuel Di Pierro has chosen a Bach cantata and various works by George Frideric Handel. These include the little-known but beautiful cantata ‘Cuopre tal volta il cielo’, in which a violent storm with thunder and lightning symbolises turbulent emotions. Baroque Concert 2 (22 July)

Baroque Concert 3 (24 July)

Six Arias, six stories full of emotions! Nahuel Di Pierro's second performance at Musikdorf Ernen is dedicated to the Operas by George Frederic Handel and Antonio Vivaldi. This introduction accompanies you through the opera plots full of passion, intrigues, love and desire. Baroque Concert 3 (24 July)

Talk with Kristof Magnusson

Kristof Magnusson will be reading from his novel «Die Reise ans Ende der Welt» at the Queerlesen in Ernen. It is an entertaining adventure novel that takes readers back to the 1990s. In conversation with Joseba Zbinden, the writer and playwright explains why it is worth looking back at this ‘apolitical’ decade. We also find out why the novel is set in Rome (Italy), Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Bonn (Germany) of all places. Queerlesen, 25 and 26 July

Baroque Concert 4 (28 July)

What does eternal peace in heaven sound like? With one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most beautiful opening pieces, we delve deep into the cantata ‘Vergnügte Ruh’, the centrepiece of the Baroque Concert 4 (28 July)

Baroque Concert 5 (30 July)

Listen to the sound of tears falling: Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater portrays Mary’s grief as she gazes upon Jesus on the cross. Also: how the Protestant North viewed Venetian entertainment culture, and why Johann Sebastian Bach nevertheless composed deeply sensual Protestant church music. Closing concert of the Baroque Weeks 2026 with Beth Taylor and Aernen Barock. Baroque Concert 5 (30 July)

Festkonzert 1 (2 August) | «Air Flow»

The opening concert of the «Kammermusikfest» at Musikdorf Ernen is not only dedicated to air and wind instruments, but also to love. In this introduction by festival director Jonathan Inniger, you will learn how the works by Mozart, Saint-Saëns, and Poulenc are connected to it. 
Festkonzert 1 (2 August)

Festkonzert 2 (4 August) | «From Source to Sea»

From a gently trickling mountain spring in the Goms valley all the way to the sea! In this programme, we follow the course of the water, from Franz Liszt’s voyage through Valais, via the development of the Vltava River in the Czech Republic, to France and Camille Saint-Saëns’s Barcarolle and Claude Debussy’s La Mer.
Festkonzert 2 (4 August)

Orchestra Concert 1 (7 August) | «Poème»

Very different forms of musical poetry are at the centre of the first orchestral concert. In this introduction, we delve into the mysterious literary inspiration behind Ernest Chausson’s deeply emotional Poème and admire the fresh, summery (and strikingly original poetic) sound world of Maurice Ravel. Orchestra Concert 1 (7 August)

Festkonzert 4 (9 August) | «Cascade»

The Festkonzert 4 combines Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s popular Hebrides Overture with three works whose irresistible energy sends veritable cascades of sound flowing toward the audience. What was it about Scotland that so fascinated Mendelssohn, and why was he so eager to travel out to the Hebrides? You will discover this and more in this introduction.
Festkonzert 4 (9 August)

Festkonzert 5 (10 August) | «Soft Dances»

Dancing can be exuberant and wild, but also quite subtle: in this programme, we explore various ‘soft dances’ through the poetic programme of the concert taking place on 10 August at Stockalperschloss in Brig. Timeless music by Franz Schubert, newly discovered late Romantic music by Georgi Catoire, and contemporary music by Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber, Composer in Residence 2025/26.
Festkonzert 5 (10 August in Brig)

Extra Concert (11 August) | «Meditation»

Concerts and meditation sessions have a lot in common. Together, yet each in their own way, people seek inner peace and a profound experience of the present moment. This programme explores the calm flow of time in music. Extra Concert (11 August)

Festkonzert 6 (12 August) | «In Dream»

The dream as a realm of untold possibilities forms the starting point for this concert programme, which features four Romantic works by Mel Bonis, Antonín Dvořák, Franz Schubert and Camille Saint-Saëns, as well as a contemporary piece by Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber, Composer in Residence for 2025/26. Festkonzert 6 (12 August)

Orchestra Concert 2 (14 August) | «Euphoria»

Three Viennese works, written by young composers—some even before their 20th birthday (Schubert and Enescu)—turn the final orchestral concert into a musical celebration overflowing with energy. Did you know that Schubert had a «Mozart year»? We also take a deep dive into the monumental musical architecture of George Enescu’s Octet. Orchestra Concert 2 (14 August)