Course contents

The lessons will take place from 31 August until 6 September at Hotel Ermitage in Schönried.
Days of arrival and departure are 30 August (until at latest 4pm) and 7 September (check-out until at latest 10am), respectively.

This year the Gstaad Baroque Academy will focus on the following instrument groups:
- Recorder with Prof. Maurice Steger (and assistants, plus workshops with various teachers)
- Baroque violoncello with Prof. Christoph Dangel
- Baroque violin & chamber music with Prof. Théotime Langlois de Swarte
- Harpsichord & chamber music with Prof. Justin Taylor


The entire repertoire of the 16^th-18^th century is covered and the participants put together their own repertoire. A special focus will be on the musical idea’s practical implementation. In addition to the recorder players, in 2025 we also invite baroque cellists, baroque violinists, baroque ensembles and recorder consorts. All approved participants will be taught in publicly accessible individual lessons by Maurice Steger. The baroque ensembles and recorder consorts players receive several lessons continuously spread over the week.

The lessons will take place publicly, in front of an audience (individual lessons throughout the week plus workshops with various lecturers). All participants listen to the public parts and thus benefit from their fellow students’ lessons, too. Discussions and questions asked to all are not unusual and the working atmosphere is focused - not only for the one person on stage but also for all the parties involved in the audience.

In addition to the individual lessons with the professors, other outstanding lecturers - friends of Maurice Steger - will give lessons and sometimes play together with the participants: the harpsichord accompanists, the recorder lecturers and the workshop and chamber music leaders of the Gstaad Baroque Academy.

All participants will have the opportunity to work with a fantastic group on the continuo repertoire (with Christoph Dangel, baroque cello), the chamber music repertoire (with Théotime Langlois de Swarte, baroque violin and Justin Taylor, harpsichord) and to present it in concert. The repertoire list will be used by the Academy's management as a basis for classification.

Due to the different requirements, the Academy is divided into three sections:
- PreCollege: musicians up to 19 years, who are about to start their studies, with their own programme with the lecturers and lessons with both professors, daily technique classes and workshops to prepare for the start of university studies
- Interpretation: mainly students, with individual lessons with all teachers and lessons with both professors, daily technique courses, workshops and chamber music
- Stage: outstanding concert artists, with their own main focus and lessons with all professors, daily seminars on stage presence, concert dramaturgy in early music including repertoire studies and career advice from a small team, workshops

Lessons are held daily from the morning until the evening and in the morning from around 11.00 to 13.30 and in the afternoon from around 14.30 to 16.30 they are accessible to the public.

If you have any questions regarding the courses’ content or Gstaad Baroque Academy in general, please turn to the contact defined below.

Selected participants at the Gstaad Baroque Academy will perform on the 5 September 2025 at 16h30 at the Hotel Ermitage and/or on the 6 September 2025 at 17.30 at the Rougemont Church - partly together with the docents. The programme will be published on the concert days.

In addition, during the week further concerts take place in the two course venues Ermitage and Le Rosey.