From October 16 to 18, Schwarzenberg was once again all about music. The :alpenarte 2026 brought together artists from Austria and abroad and treated the audience to three diverse days of festival fun. In addition to the concerts, the weekend was marked above all by encounters between different musical worlds and the shared experience of being together in the village.

Friday began with a program for young audiences. At two concerts designed specifically for elementary and middle schools, Evelyn Fink-Mennel, together with the Kons-Fiddlers, invited around 800 students to sing, jam, and have fun. In the evening, the young Vorarlberg pianist Tobias Jacob opened the festival with a backstage concert. The program featured works by Chopin, Schubert, Rameau, Scriabin, and Rachmaninoff.

The program then took on a more diverse tone with Philipp Schupelius (cello) and Leon Lorenz (percussion). In the tried-and-true “I dr Stuba” format, the two brought together classical, jazz, and musical theater. In addition to music by Astor Piazzolla, the program featured works by Fazıl Say and Enjott Schneider, as well as an original composition by Leon Lorenz. The interplay between the cello and percussion opened up a wide range of musical perspectives.

Saturday evening featured the Stretton Quartet, with Michael Shaham and Elli Choi (violin), Noga Shaham (viola), and Arne Zeller (cello). Before the Grand Concert, a pre-concert talk organized in cooperation with the Stretton Society offered an opportunity to learn more about the musicians, their instruments, and the evening’s program. The Society supports young talents on their path to the international music scene.

One of the highlights of the evening was the world premiere of “Jenseits der Echos – Beyond the Mountains.” The piece, commissioned specifically for :alpenarte, was composed by South Korean composer Haram Kim and was performed publicly for the first time at the festival.

On Sunday, the music led the way out into the village. After the church service, which was accompanied by music, the Brass Divas welcomed visitors with their alphorns at the village fountain. A short concert by the Kons-Fiddlers in the church marked the next stop, before Evelyn Fink-Mennel accompanied the group through Schwarzenberg to the Angelika Kauffmann Museum, singing and playing the fiddle along the way. There, the museum staff provided insights into the current exhibition.

During the talk, violin maker and author Martin Schleske spoke about instrument making and how materials and craftsmanship come together to create a distinctive sound. The exhibition in the foyer of the Angelika Kauffmann Hall complemented the theme on Friday and Saturday.

The three-day festival came to a close with a performance by Lithuanian accordionist Martynas Levickis and his Mikroorkéstra. His program, “Dance of Sounds,” spanned genres from classical to tango and showcased the musical versatility of the accordion.

The festival also included socializing and getting to know one another before and after the concerts. Wolfgang Mätzler provided the culinary accompaniment with his cooking.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to all the artists, the entire :alpenarte team, our funding partners, supporters, and sponsors, as well as everyone whose dedication helped make the festival a success.

:alpenarte 2026 came to a close, leaving us with many memorable experiences and encounters. We look forward to the next edition, October 15 to 17, 2027, in Schwarzenberg.