This year’s edition was an artistic triumph, featuring a varied program of the highest quality, which surprised and enchanted the audience – 4,500 spectators for 16 performances – even when the proposals were more daring and seemingly less popular on paper: thinking back to Mala Punica’s concert dedicated to composer Johannes Ciconia, the mysterious and intriguing Sheng Concerto by Korean composer Unsuk Chin with Chinese virtuoso Wu Wei, or the eclectic recital by Marc-André Hamelin. These were not choices driven by box office potential, but ones that left a fascinating and lasting impression.
Meanwhile, the first glimpses of the 80th edition are now on the horizon, the last under the artistic direction of Francesco Piemontesi. From September 2 to October 23, 2025, Ascona is gearing up for another extraordinary musical season, with a program full of unmissable events. Great orchestras have been announced, such as the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Robin Ticciati, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande with Jonathan Nott, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra with Gianandrea Noseda, the Budapest Festival Orchestra led by Ivan Fischer, the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana with Charles Dutoit, and the Brno Philharmonic Choir. Also announced are acclaimed early music ensembles like the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir under Ton Koopman and Il Pomo d’Oro with Maxim Emelyanychev, as well as outstanding soloists such as pianists Arcadi Volodos, Andras Schiff, and Francesco Piemontesi, South African soprano Golda Schultz, and violinists Guy Braunstein and Chouchane Siranossian. And the surprises don't end there: further concerts will be revealed in the coming months!
Provisional Program 2025
