Dear friends,
Georgia in all its splendour and diversity will open the Sion Festival 202, with the Georgian composer Giya Kancheli as a continuous thread. Join us for three days of distant and intriguing soundscapes and new creations in dialogue with the musical heritage of the past. Or would you rather stroll through the old town of Sion and let yourself be carried away by Italian or Italian inspired music. In any case, we invite you to travel!  The Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt (GKO) led by Russian conductor Felix Korobov will launch the festivities on 20 August at the Ferme-Asile in Sion: it will question the idea of tradition at the heart of the "classical" repertoire, surrounded by soloists Massimo Mercelli (flute), Julia Zilberquit (piano), Svetlana Makarova (violin) and Pavel Vernikov (violin), the festival's artistic director. Vivaldi and Schubert will be performed alongside works by Michael Nyman, Giovanni Sollima, Vidmantas Bartulis and Josef Bardanashvili - who pays tribute to another Georgian composer, the great Giya Kancheli.  Kancheli's music will be omnipresent on 21 August during the Gabriadze Theatre's puppet show "The Autumn of my Springtime" (sold out), and during the animated film "Rezo" directed by Levan Gabriadze, who will be in Sion for the occasion. He will pay tribute to his father Rezo Gabriadze, the founder of the theatre who died just a few weeks ago.  On 22 August in Sion Cathedral, the Rustavi Ensemble will present you an extraordinary UNESCO heritage, that of Georgian choral art, between sung epic tales, dance tunes, drinking songs and Byzantine liturgical hymns. Closing the circle, it will juxtapose this ancestral repertoire with a work by Giya Kancheli, in which the violins of Svetlana Makarova and Pavel Vernikov will mingle with the male voices.  A change of style and mood on 21 August with the "Musique en fête" day, which will be based on the theme of "Viva Italia" and will combine music with love, cinema, lightness and joy of life, but also violence and tragedy. On the streets of Sion, you will be able to taste italianità and breathe some sea air during a dozen free concerts organised in collaboration with the Conservatoire Cantonal and Schubertiade Sion.
The 56th edition of the festival will continue until 5 September, welcoming stars from the international music scene such as Janine Jansen, Kolja Blacher, Sergei Babayan or Igudesman & Joo.
As always, we focus on the quality of the reception, in complete safety. We have therefore chosen to limit the capacity of its venues to two thirds and consequently not to make the COVID certificate compulsory for access to concerts and shows.
Have a nice festival start!
The team of the Sion Festival | 
