Appassionata - season 2026-27

After a founding season heralded as the ‘Overture’ – the opening of a place, a breath and an imagination – we have witnessed the birth of something that is much more than just a programme: a community. You came in your droves, full of passion and curiosity.

The 2026-27 is building on this momentum, but also ramping things up. Its title? Appassionata. A word that embodies both flame and flaw. It evokes, of course, Beethoven’s famous Sonata, one of the most captivating works of his oeuvre. But beyond that reference, it unites ardour and hardship, momentum and rupture. In a concert hall where emotion lies at the heart of discourse, music speaks to the soul, going beyond languages, origins and borders. It brings people together. It unites us.

There are three major themes this season. The first shines a spotlight on female artists from different generations, women of experience and audacity, of traditional and renewal, who speak to each other across repertoires and time. The piano takes centre stage in this constellation. The season will be opened by Chopin Competition winner Yulianna Avdeeva, appearing in concert alongside the RAI National Symphony Orchestra, one of Italy’s most important symphonic ensembles, under the baton of Michele Mariotti, who is becoming its principal conductor, while continuing with his duties at the Rome Opera. In recital, the young Alexandra Dovgan, a flagship of the new generation, will share a different, but just as vital, spark. At the very pinnacle of the piano world, Martha Argerich is doing us the great honour of appearing as this season’s Signature Artist. An icon of the piano and a complete, universal artist, she brings together both living memory and unquenchable energy, creating a natural echo across the generations. Alongside them, Nikolai Lugansky will join this panoply of pianists with the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, conducted by Michael Sanderling. Four ways of inhabiting the keyboard – a lively and vibrant dialogue across musical works and eras. This female presence will also be embodied by other leading exponents from the international scene, especially the violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja with the Camerata Bern, the violinist Vilde Frang and the cellist Julia Hagen, along with the soprano Julie Fuchs.

Beethoven is the second key pillar of the season, as we approach 2027, a year which will mark two hundred years since his death. This major figure in musical history, who transformed the language of symphonic and chamber music, will be a guiding thread throughout the season. While some concerts will be entirely dedicated to him, his music will also feature on the bill of various other events, from symphonies to overtures, not to forget the intimacy of the sonata. The Belcea Quartet will explore Beethoven’s chamber music oeuvre. The visit of this ensemble, one of the most prestigious in the world, will be a notable milestone: the first ever guest string quartet in the history of Noda BCVS. Renaud Capuçon and pianist Mao Fujita will launch a cycle dedicated to the sonatas for piano and violin, with three concerts spread across 2027. Lastly, the symphony season will conclude with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande conducted by Daniele Gatti, accompanied by the violinist Vilde Frang performing Schumann’s Concerto – an apotheosis driven by Symphony No. 7. In this same spirit of exploration of the great symphonic and concertante repertoire, the season will feature other unmissable events. The Bruckner Orchester Linz, under the baton of Markus Poschner, will be accompanied by the soloist Julia Hagen on the cello. The Orchestre de Paris, conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada with Gautier Capuçon, will present the Swiss premiere of Max Richter’s Cello Concerto, thus perpetuating the fine legacy of the cello at Noda BCVS. We will also have the honour of welcoming a veritable cello legend, Mischa Maisky, alongside Martha Argerich.

The third and final cornerstone of the season is the voice. It will sing forth in all its glory during three landmark events. The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, conducted by Ton Koopman, will bring out all the vitality and passion of Baroque tradition. The Freiburger Barockorchester will join the Collegium Vocale Gent under the baton of Pablo Heras-Casado, together with the soprano Julie Fuchs, for a luminous dialogue between orchestra and voice. Lastly, the Les Musiciens du Louvre Choir and Orchestra, conducted by Marc Minkowski, will present a grand spiritual fresco with Mozart’s Requiem at the heart of the programme. Three concerts, three worlds, but the same intensity: that of the voice expressing itself in its purest form.

Because passion is also about exploration and encounter, the season is opening up to new horizons while weaving close ties with cultural institutions in Sion. Symphonic jazz will create a dialogue between the virtuoso trumpeter Erik Truffaz and the Sedunum String Orchestra. The Tzusamen project will bring together the Sirba Octet and the Schola de Sion in a new blend of Armenian, Yiddish and Gypsy sacred and folk music. Young Swiss musicians will also share the limelight, with the final of the Concours National d’Exécution Musicale de Riddes. In collaboration with Les Riches Heures de Valère, the Le Concert Spirituel ensemble, conducted by Hervé Niquet, will present a grand Baroque evening dedicated to George Frideric Handel. Lastly, the Ensemble Noda concert will bring together members of the teaching staff at HEMU – Valais-Wallis and their students alongside Xavier Phillips for a programme exploring the cello in all its facets – including a new work by the Bernese composer and cellist Thomas Demenga. Noda BCVS is thus reaffirming its desire to becoming a centre of excellence, but also one of transmission, collaboration and audacity.

After the resounding success of the first season, the Noda+ outreach activities are building on that momentum and increasing the avenues for getting into music. All springboards to exploring, feeling and understanding together. This season, Noda+ is also opening new musical horizons, especially with the Jazz Thursdays at Noda, where the audience is invited to discover new shades of sound in a spirit of sharing and curiosity.

With Appassionata, the story continues. More intense, more passionate and more profound than ever. Come and experience it with us.

Giada Marsadri
Artistic Director

We were eagerly awaiting it. Here is the programme for the next cultural season at Noda BCVS. Curated by the Artistic Director, Giada Marsadri, it affirms the institution’s ambitions: to provide the audience with a creative, diverse and, above all, high-quality musical programme.

For this second season, no fewer than 19 concerts are on the agenda. Noda BCVS is showcasing renowned orchestras, such as the Orchestre de Paris or the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, alongside leading conductors and performances, with the legendary Martha Argerich as a prime example, but also original pieces, in an inventive programme with ample space for discovery and emotion. Our promise? To make every concert a celebration, a unique and timeless experience where everyone comes together through music.

In under a year, our concert and conference room has carved out its place in the Swiss cultural landscape. The live broadcast (by RTS Espace 2) and showing of the OSR’s inaugural concert and the Filarmonica della Scala concert, along with the showing of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra concert, have showcased this exceptional venue to a wider audience. The hall’s acoustics and welcoming facilities have also left their mark among classical music professionals. Sion has now earned its place as a respected Swiss venue for touring European orchestras.

But no matter how brilliant the hall, it is nothing without a passionate audience and committed cultural partners. Noda BCVS enjoys fruitful collaboration with musical institutions with well-established roots in the region: the Sion Festival, which has found a home base that reflects the scale of its programming, but also the Riches Heures de Valère and its Baroque offerings, the Schola, the Pôle Musique and the HEMU – Haute École de Musique, which organises regular Musical Matinées.

Lastly, a superb cultural outreach initiative completes the programme, inviting all and sundry to come and visit the institution. Choir directors from all over the region will ensure a lively lunch break with a ‘Loud and off-key!’ session on the main stage. Who could say no?

Celebrating the joy of shared music, we wish a long life to Noda BCVS.

Philippe Varone
President of Sion

A complete, universal musician and legendary magician of the piano, it is a huge honour for Noda BCVS that Martha Argerich has agreed to be our Signature Artist for the 2026-27 season.

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