Rencontres Musicales d'Évian
Chamber music at its peak in the jewel of the Grange au Lac
About Musicales d'Évian
The Rencontres Musicales d'Évian is an internationally renowned classical music festival held every summer in Évian-les-Bains, on the shores of Lake Geneva. Created in 1976 under the impetus of Antoine Riboud, president of the Danone group, the festival was reborn in 2014 under the artistic direction of violinist Renaud Capuçon. The festival now takes place in two exceptional venues: the Grange au Lac (1,000 seats), a wooden auditorium built in 1993, and La Source Vive (500 seats), a new hall dedicated to chamber music inaugurated in 2026. Each year, for twelve days, the greatest performers from the global classical scene gather to explore a major theme or composer.
Half a century of classical music on the shores of Lake Geneva
The history of the Rencontres Musicales d'Évian is rooted in 1976, when Antoine Riboud, then president of the Danone group, created a music festival in Évian-les-Bains. The event took a decisive turn in 1993 with the construction of the Grange au Lac, a wooden auditorium made of Jura pine and cedar, designed like a huge chalet and offered to cellist Mstislav Rostropovitch. This exceptional venue, combining rusticity and acoustic sophistication, became the festival's setting.
After a period of dormancy, the festival was reborn in 2014 under the impetus of violinist Renaud Capuçon, who took over its artistic direction and restored its international ambition. The Rencontres Musicales d'Évian thus regained its place among the foremost French classical music festivals.
Two exceptional venues in the heart of the Mélèzes forest
Since 2026, the festival has been held in two complementary venues located in the forest above Évian:
- La Grange au Lac (1,000 seats) — built in 1993, this wooden auditorium offers exceptional acoustics in a setting reminiscent of a large alpine chalet. It hosts large orchestral ensembles and extensive chamber formations.
- La Source Vive (500 seats) — inaugurated in June 2026, this new intimate hall is specifically dedicated to chamber music, allowing for a rare proximity between musicians and the audience.
The greatest performers in an enchanting setting
Under the artistic direction of Renaud Capuçon, the festival annually attracts the biggest names in global classical music. Each year, the program explores a major theme or composer — the complete Ravel in 2025, the complete Brahms in 2026 — offering music lovers the opportunity to delve deeply into a repertoire over twelve days of concerts.
Beyond the indoor concerts, the festival also offers a free Festival Off with events in the town of Évian, making classical music accessible to the widest audience.
International reach from the Alps
The Rencontres Musicales d'Évian have regained an international reputation that makes them one of France's most prestigious chamber music festivals. The event attracts an audience of music lovers from all over Europe, drawn by the exceptional quality of the program, the incomparable acoustics of the venues, and the enchanting setting on the shores of Lake Geneva.
Musicales d'Évian — edition 2026
50th anniversary edition of the Rencontres Musicales d'Évian, from June 24 to July 5, 2026 at La Grange au Lac and at La Source Vive, a new 500-seat hall inaugurated for the occasion. Under the artistic direction of Renaud Capuçon, the program explores the complete chamber music of Johannes Brahms with an exceptional lineup: Yo-Yo Ma, Yuja Wang, András Schiff, Barbara Hannigan, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Emanuel Ax, Igor Levit and many other leading artists.
50th Anniversary: Brahms by the Greatest
To celebrate its half-century of existence, the Rencontres Musicales d'Évian dedicate their 2026 edition to the complete chamber music of Johannes Brahms. Eleven "Brahms in Évian" concerts punctuate the twelve days of the festival, offering a complete immersion in the world of the German composer: sonatas for violin and piano, trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, and lieder.
In parallel with the Brahms cycle, the program welcomes major orchestral ensembles to La Grange au Lac: the Camerata Salzburg in Mozart, the Münchner Philharmoniker conducted by Barbara Hannigan, The Philharmonic Brass under the baton of Tugan Sokhiev, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne led by Renaud Capuçon in a Bach/Vivaldi crossover program.
Inauguration of La Source Vive
The 2026 edition marks the inauguration of La Source Vive, a new intimate 500-seat concert hall, dedicated to chamber music. It operates in tandem with La Grange au Lac (1,000 seats), historically dedicated to large ensembles. The Brahms concerts are distributed between the two halls according to the size of the formations.
Programme Musicales d'Évian 2026
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
- 8:00 PM — Brahms in Évian #1 · La Source Vive
María Dueñas & Denis Kozhukhin: Violin and Piano Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108
Renaud Capuçon, Timothy Ridout, Yo-Yo Ma & Emanuel Ax: Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 26
Thursday, June 25, 2026
- 5:00 PM — Brahms in Évian #2 · La Source Vive
Timothy Ridout & Guillaume Bellom: Viola and Piano Sonata No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 120 No. 2
Renaud Capuçon & Emanuel Ax: Violin and Piano Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78
Stefan Dohr, Renaud Capuçon & Denis Kozhukhin: Trio for Piano, Violin and Horn in E-flat major, Op. 40 - 8:00 PM — Camerata Salzburg · La Grange au Lac
Guillaume Chilemme (conductor), Sunwook Kim (piano)
Kraus: Overture to Olympie · Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 · Mozart: Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter", K. 551
Friday, June 26, 2026
- 5:00 PM — Les Talens Lyriques · La Source Vive
Christophe Rousset (conductor), Key'mon Murrah (countertenor)
Handel: arias, overtures and interludes from Giulio Cesare, Rodrigo, Serse, Ariodante and Rinaldo - 8:00 PM — Brahms in Évian #3 · La Grange au Lac
Yo-Yo Ma & Yuja Wang: Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38
String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36 (Y. Saadi, C.-J. Kang, P. Zientara, S. Ferrández, K. Soltani, E. Moreau)
String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 18 (R. Capuçon, M. Dueñas, T. Ridout, G. Caussé, Yo-Yo Ma, C. Hagen)
Saturday, June 27, 2026
- 11:00 AM — Let's go to the concert! · La Source Vive
String Quartet of the Münchner Philharmoniker — Family concert (ages 5 and up) - 5:00 PM — Brahms in Évian #4 · La Source Vive
Igor Levit: Four Ballades for Piano, Op. 10
Igor Levit, Renaud Capuçon & Julia Hagen: Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 - 8:00 PM — Münchner Philharmoniker · La Grange au Lac
Barbara Hannigan (conductor and soprano)
Copland, Haydn, Offenbach, Weill
Sunday, June 28, 2026
- 5:00 PM — Lukas Sternath (piano) · La Source Vive
Schubert: Sonata in A major, D. 959
Liszt: Après une lecture du Dante, Fantasia quasi sonata (Années de pèlerinage II) - 8:00 PM — The Philharmonic Brass · La Grange au Lac
Tugan Sokhiev (conductor) — 16 brass and 4 percussionists from the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras
Shostakovich: Festive Overture, Op. 96 · Borodin: Polovtsian Dances · Dvořák: Slavonic Dance No. 1, Op. 46 and Carnival Overture, Op. 92 · Rossini: Overture to William Tell · Verdi: Ballabile (Aïda) · Martucci: Nocturne, Op. 70 · Puccini: Intermezzo (Manon Lescaut) · Respighi: Circenses and The Pines of the Appian Way
Monday, June 29, 2026
- 3:00 PM — Brahms in Évian #5 · La Source Vive
C.-J. Kang & D. Kozhukhin: Scherzo from the F-A-E Sonata
Y. Saadi, G. Caussé, C. Hagen & D. Kozhukhin: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25
C.-J. Kang, Y. Saadi, G. Caussé, S. Ferrández & E. Moreau: String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111 - 8:00 PM — Brahms in Évian #6 · La Source Vive
Quatuor Ébène: String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51 No. 2
Marina Viotti (mezzo-soprano), Anna Vinnitskaya (piano) & Paul Zientara (viola): Two Songs for Contralto, Viola and Piano, Op. 91
Quatuor Ébène & Anna Vinnitskaya: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34
Marina Viotti: Hungarian Dances, Op. 103
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
- 8:00 PM — Chamber Orchestra of Europe · La Grange au Lac
Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor), Romain Guyot (clarinet)
Schubert: Symphony in B minor "Unfinished", D. 759 · Weber: Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73 · Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 in A major "Italian", Op. 90
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
- 5:00 PM — Emmanuel Pahud & Denis Kozhukhin · La Source Vive
Reinecke: Flute and Piano Sonata in E minor "Undine", Op. 167 · Mozart: Flute and Piano Sonata in E minor, K. 304 (transcription) · Prokofiev: Flute and Piano Sonata in D major, Op. 94 - 8:00 PM — Brahms in Évian #7 · La Grange au Lac
Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Daniel Lozakovich, Paul Zientara & Yuja Wang
Brahms: Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87 · Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60
Thursday, July 2, 2026
- 3:00 PM — Brahms in Évian #8 · La Source Vive
Clara-Jumi Kang, Daniel Lozakovich, Edgar Moreau & Sunwook Kim
Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99 · Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100 · Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101 - 8:00 PM — Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne · La Grange au Lac
Renaud Capuçon (violin and conductor), Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Daniel Lozakovich (violin), Gautier Capuçon (cello), Edgar Moreau (cello), Anna Vinnitskaya (piano)
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, BWV 1048 · Vivaldi: Concerto for Flute and Violin in D major, RV 512 · Bach: Harpsichord Concerto No. 5 in F minor, BWV 1056 · Bach: Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 · Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Cellos in G minor, RV 531 · Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067
Friday, July 3, 2026
- 3:00 PM — Brahms in Évian #9 · La Source Vive
Quatuor Arod & Daniel Ottensamer (clarinet)
Brahms: String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat major, Op. 67 · Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 - 8:00 PM — Brahms in Évian #10 · La Source Vive
Quatuor Belcea & Paul Zientara (viola)
Brahms: String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51 No. 1 · String Quintet No. 1 in F major, Op. 88
Saturday, July 4, 2026
- 3:00 PM — Brahms in Évian #11 · La Source Vive
Daniel Ottensamer (clarinet), Julia Hagen (cello) & Guillaume Bellom (piano)
Brahms: Clarinet and Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120 No. 1 · Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano in A minor, Op. 114 - 8:00 PM — Sir András Schiff (piano) · La Source Vive
Schubert: Moments Musicaux, D. 780 · Impromptus, D. 899 · Drei Klavierstücke, D. 946 · Impromptus, D. 935
Sunday, July 5, 2026
- Closing concert — program to be confirmed
Highlights Musicales d'Évian 2026
- 50th anniversary of the Rencontres Musicales d'Évian
- Inauguration of La Source Vive, a new 500-seat hall dedicated to chamber music
- Complete chamber music of Brahms in 11 concerts
- Yo-Yo Ma and Yuja Wang in Brahms' Sextets and Sonatas
- Barbara Hannigan conducts the Münchner Philharmoniker
- Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the Chamber Orchestra of Europe
- Sir András Schiff in a Schubert recital
- Igor Levit, Emanuel Ax, Quatuor Ébène, Quatuor Arod, Quatuor Belcea
- Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne in Bach/Vivaldi with the Capuçon brothers
Prices Musicales d'Évian 2026
Practical information — Musicales d'Évian
Practical Information
Access
The Rencontres Musicales d'Évian take place at Les Mélèzes, 37 avenue des Mélèzes, 74500 Neuvecelle (Évian-les-Bains).
- By car: A40 motorway exit Annemasse then RD 903 towards Évian-les-Bains.
- By train: Évian-les-Bains train station (TER from Annemasse).
- By boat: CGN shuttles from Lausanne.
Venues
- La Grange au Lac — 1,000 seats, large orchestral ensembles.
- La Source Vive — 500 seats, chamber music (inaugurated in 2026).
Ticketing
Online booking: billetterie.lesmelezes-evian.com
By phone: 04 50 26 94 48 (Tuesday-Friday, 2 PM-6 PM).
On site: 37 avenue des Mélèzes, 74500 Neuvecelle.
Contact
- Website: lesmelezes-evian.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/lesmelezes
- Instagram: @les_melezes_evian
- YouTube: @les_melezes
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Where does it take place — Musicales d'Évian
La Grange au Lac
37 avenue des Mélèzes, 74500 Neuvecelle, 74500 Évian-les-Bains