Alpine festival swells into Asia's crescendo

In Shenzhen, conditions could not have been more different. During the 10-day festival, it did not rain once.

Outside the Shenzhen Concert Hall, local children on winter break skated across the tree-lined square while migratory birds chirped overhead. Near the library and the concert hall — symmetrical architecture designed by late Pritzker Prize winner Arata Isozaki — piano lovers practiced in small booths they booked on smartphones.

Backstage, the spirit of adaptation remained essential. Organizers at Shenzhen Concert Hall scrambled to secure a backup instrument for chamber orchestra cellist Roric Cunningham after his 1923 cello, crafted by French luthier Albert Caressa, was delayed at Boston Airport amid heavy snowstorms. Four musicians from the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra joined the chamber orchestra to perform Dvorak's Symphony No 9 in E Minor, From the New World.

However, the road from Verbier to a new land had been "a bumpy ride", says Engstroem.

In 2008, at a conference in Kazakhstan, he met a "tall man" from China. Wu Jiatong is a passionate music lover who happens to run one of Asia's largest classical music agencies, managing tours like the Vienna Philharmonic in China and Egypt. The two men clicked instantly and shared a helicopter ride to the northern Tianshan Mountains.

Engstroem recalls he was struck by Wu's "energy". "We share similar visions," recalls Wu.

Over the years, the duo shared more ideas and more helicopter rides. In 2018, while visiting the Himalayas, they noticed similar spiritual parallels between the Alps and the Himalayas. There, they conceived the idea of expanding Verbier to Asia.

The first choice was Yanguan, a culturally rich little town in Zhejiang. "I bought the allwood Opera des Nations theater in Geneva, which used to be the Opera-Comique during Louis XIV's reign," says Wu. Piece by piece, he had the removable theater shipped to Yanguan for reconstruction during COVID lockdowns. Despite the efforts, it was not completed on time.

Then came the idea to build a temporary Verbier pavilion in Hong Kong's West Kowloon near the M+ Museum landmark, but differences with local partners stalled the plan.

When Shenzhen took over, there were fewer than 12 months to prepare. "There were even plans to train a youth orchestra for Verbier in Asia — just not enough time. Going forward, we will expand the youth learning programs," says Ding Zhongyuan, deputy director of the Shenzhen Municipal Culture, Media, Tourism and Sports Bureau. Ding visited Verbier last summer and heard Teodor Currentzis conduct Brahms and Mendelssohn with soloist Marc Bouchkov.

Verbier's famed young musician training programs were introduced through seven master classes led by Bouchkov, Capucon, Jansen, Maisky, Ridout, Sohn, and Takacs-Nagy. Stephen McHolm, who heads the Verbier Festival Academy, organized the sessions and oversees the academy's artist development work, combining high-level musical training with concert programming and professional preparation for young musicians.

"I guess you could say that I'm a Verbier product," says Michael Fuller, deputy artistic director of the Verbier Festival in Shenzhen, who was also a founding member and double bass player in the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra. He and his wife Lulu Fuller, a violinist, were both trained by the Verbier orchestra programs.

Orchestra executives, conservatory deans, foundation leaders and talent scouts also attended to discover and cultivate the next Yuja Wangs or Lang Langs. As Engstroem puts it, the formula for a musical career today involves "a lot to do with personality, a little bit of luck, and a lot about the network".

McHolm, who has directed Verbier's academy programs for nine years, stands close to the center of that network. In his work pants and carrying a backpack, he spent hours advising young musicians. "Still wanna play the cello?" he joked with Xie Tingyu, a young cellist who just finished her master class with Gautier Capucon.

"Yeah, sure!" replied the 15-year-old, as her mother and cello professor Zhang Fan listened attentively. The trio had traveled from Chengdu. Victor Yuanhan Lu, a 21-year-old pianist from Chengdu and an academy alumnus, helped Xie's teacher Zhang Fan translate his questions for McHolm.

Wu recently launched the China Young Musicians Program under the Wu Zezhou Foundation, honoring his father. "Talent must learn when and how to make the right decisions," he said — blunt, practical, realistic.

Equally important is cultivating audiences. Wang Jun, pregnant with her third child, says she bought two Verbier tickets for her young daughters. Nearby, three sixth-graders from a local school orchestra secured tickets for just 20 yuan ($2.88) through a student discount initiative by the concert hall. "The original ticket costs hundreds," says one mother, who asked to remain anonymous. The parents waited outside the symphony hall, watching their children hurry into the queue.

Herve Boissiere, now co-CEO of the Verbier Festival, was also in Shenzhen. The veteran producer, known for founding medici.tv, the classical music's version of YouTube, noted that livestreaming did not take place in Shenzhen this year. Engstroem called it a "lost opportunity", but both believe the event will still be archived and shared globally in the coming months.

As opera houses and orchestras in the West confront mounting challenges, Asia is emerging as a new focal point. Seoul and Taipei have approached Engstroem and Wu to consider their cities. "We're here, and we're very grateful," Engstroem says. "At the moment, we'd like to make a three-year deal with Shenzhen," says Engstroem. A three-year partnership was announced a day after this festival, with the next Verbier Festival Shenzhen to be held in February 2027.

But ultimately, artists simply want to play music for everyone. They rehearsed, discussed compositions, and rode a carousel at the hotel. They marveled at LED displays and sang for locals in the park. There were even proposals to bring Chinese restaurants to the Alps. They smiled in selfies with fans and played little pranks. Gautier Capucon and violinist Alexandra Conunova mimicked a smartphone ringtone coming off stage. "We all have perfect pitch, so we can absolutely repeat the same melody or play some variations," says Conunova in a group interview.

In July, Maisky, Argerich and Jansen will reunite in Switzerland. In October 2027, nine Verbier concerts are scheduled at Carnegie Hall. Ultimately, the ambition is simple. "We try to help people to be more positive and kind, and nurture their better side, in order to avoid conflicts which are unfortunate," says Maisky.

The author is a freelance writer for China Daily.