The Board of Directors of the Gstaad Menuhin Festival & Academy has unanimously chosen Daniel Hope as its new Artistic Director. He will succeed Christoph Müller, who will step down at the end of 2025.

Daniel Hope will take over the Gstaad Menuhin Festival & Academy, which Christoph Müller has designed, programmed, and shaped for almost a quarter of a century. What are their feelings and expectations? What advice does the retiring artistic director have for his successor? This conversation explores their passion for classical music and the effort to preserve it.

Mr Hope, you will be taking over from Christoph Müller: From autumn 2025, you will be the new Artistic Director of the Gstaad Menuhin Festival & Academy. What is your reaction?

Daniel Hope (DH): I feel enormous joy, coupled with great respect and humility for this position. My history with the festival goes back a long way, but it truly hit me when I arrived in the Saanenland. After a stressful stay abroad, I travelled here one Monday evening. During the car journey, I opened the window and took a deep breath. It felt like coming home, as my associations with the mountain air and the Saanenland are so profound. It was, therefore, an emotional experience.

You’ve performed on the Menuhin stage several times and will be performing twice this year. In the future, you’ll decide who will be on stage. How do you feel about that?

DH: I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to sit in the audience in the future! I’m curious to see how people react to what happens on stage. It’s a completely different perspective from what I’ve known as an artist. Fortunately, I still have two more festival editions before that happens. Christoph Müller conceptualises the festivals in a very intelligent way, blending plenty of history and creativity, and I appreciate that. I’ll need to find my own approach to continuing the festival after Christoph. It’s a big challenge but also a gift. I believe there’s no set recipe for this; you must convey your ideas through emotions to inspire people about classical music. Of course, there are different musical tastes, but ultimately, we all love music, and this unites us.

Christoph Müller, is there anything specific Mr. Hope should consider?
(CM): The festival is challenging because it takes place in a holiday region rather than an urban area, requiring travel for many attendees. Fortunately, we also have many local guests. Many concertgoers travel specifically for the concerts, so our offerings must meet their demands and wishes, as they often combine the festival with their holiday. Despite this, we always aim to provide an exciting and sometimes challenging program, not just easy listening and pure entertainment. We want to be a major summer festival in Europe’s festival landscape while also considering the needs of a holiday region. This balance is our formula, and we must account for these special features, which also makes it fascinating.

What special advice would you give Mr Hope for his future role?
CM: I have come to know Daniel as an innovative artist who is always looking for new forms of communication and formats. That’s why I think he’s the ideal solution, as we’re also trying to create new platforms and reach younger audiences. An audience survey we conducted last year showed that 38 per cent of 18 to 35-year-olds had already encountered classical music, often through playlists or film music. That was surprisingly high and shows a huge opportunity to reach these people. At the same time, it is a task and a duty for us as festival organisers to reach out to the next generation. I believe that Daniel’s projects can appeal to exactly the people we want to reach. That makes him the perfect choice.

BASED ON AVS / JOCELYNE PAGE

About

Daniel Hope was born in South Africa in 1973. Due to increasing repression under apartheid, his family was forced to leave the country. His father co-founded the regime-critical literary magazine “Bolt,” leading to the family being monitored. Hope’s mother secured Irish citizenship for the family, and in 1975, they moved to London, where she worked for Yehudi Menuhin. Menuhin insisted they spend summers in Gstaad, where Hope’s love of music was kindled.

Hope attended rehearsals at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, experiencing works by Beethoven, Mozart, Bartók, and Vivaldi, and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. At eleven, he was allowed to turn the pages at festival concerts, giving him insight into life backstage. In 1992, he made his official festival debut, performing works by Alfred Schnittke at Menuhin’s invitation. Hope studied violin with Zakhar Bron and Itzhak Rashkovsky at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

He has performed as a soloist for over 35 years and has been an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2007, travelling the world as a chamber musician and soloist.

Since 2016, he has been the Music Director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and took on the same position with the New Century Chamber Orchestra in San Francisco in 2018. In 2019, he became Artistic Director of the Frauenkirche Dresden and has been President of the Beethoven House in Bonn since 2020.

Hope is a sought-after guest at renowned festivals and concert halls worldwide, working regularly with leading conductors and orchestras. His discography includes over 30 award-winning albums. A passionate chamber musician, he was a member of the Beaux Arts Trio for many years and has collaborated with artists like Sting and Mia Farrow. He hosts the radio program “Daniel Hope persönlich” on WDR3 and has written for the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian. During the 2020 lockdown, he initiated the livestream series “Hope@Home” with Arte to support artists.

Hope has received numerous awards, including the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Cultural Award. He is married, has two children, and has recently moved to Switzerland.