The Summit
FRIDAY, 24 – SUNDAY, 26 July 2026
A THINK TANK FOR THE CULTURE OF TOMORROW
MODERATORS
Daniel Hope, Artistic Director Menuhin Festival Gstaad
Klaus Fiala, Editor-in-Chief, Forbes Swiss
Jessica Lustig, Managing Director, 21C Media Group
Antonin Scherrer, Music Historian, Dramaturg Menuhin Festival Gstaad
SPEAKERS AND PANELISTS
Setsuko Klossowska de Rola, Artist, President Emerita of the Balthus Foundation
Ilona Schmiel, Artistic Director, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Marie Babette Nierenz, Artistic Director, Philharmonie Essen
Matthias Schulz, Artistic Director, Opernhaus Zürich
Peter Gartiser, Founder and Partner METRUM Management Consulting, Munich
Dr. Clemens Trautmann, President, Deutsche Grammophon
Marco Malagodi, Professor of Musicology, University of Pavia; Scientific Director, Arvedi Laboratory, Cremona
Faouzi Skali, Author, Anthropologist and Founder, Fes Festival of World Sacred Music
Germinal Roaux, Film Director and Producer
Jakub Fiebig, Founder & CEO, OnstageAI
Dr. Patricia Ernst, Lawyer P
awel Jablonski, CTO, OnstageAI
Panel discussions take place in English and German
The Summit is a new leadership and cultural forum launched by the Menuhin Festival Gstaad, taking place for the first time in summer 2026. Created in partnership with Forbes Swiss and supported by Pro Scientia et Arte, the initiative brings together leading figures from music, cultural management, media, technology, business and the arts in Gstaad.
Through four sessions held at the Grand Chalet Balthus in Rossinière, international decision-makers and thought leaders will discuss the future of cultural institutions and classical music. Topics include leadership and strategic management, cultural diplomacy, sustainable funding models, and the role of the next generation in shaping tomorrow’s cultural landscape.Interviews, keynote addresses and moderated panel discussions will provide insight into the challenges and opportunities facing a rapidly evolving cultural sector. How can cultural institutions remain relevant in an increasingly competitive environment? What new partnerships and funding models are required? What responsibilities do artists, cultural leaders and the media bear in an interconnected world? And what role can culture play where politics reaches its limits?
With The Summit, the Menuhin Festival Gstaad establishes an annual platform for dialogue, exchange and strategic reflection, expanding the festival beyond performance into a forum for ideas with an international perspective. At the same time, The Summit offers students of the String Academy direct access to influential leaders and key decision-makers from across the global music sector.
Set against the unique backdrop of the Grand Chalet Balthus in Rossinière, The Summit will explore some of the defining questions of our time. For three days, the Menuhin Festival Gstaad becomes a meeting place for cultural leadership, innovation and new alliances.
The idea of The Summit is deeply connected to Yehudi Menuhin. In many conversations, he encouraged me to see music not only as an art form, but as a responsibility. The Summit is my attempt to create a space for that idea today – a place where artists, decision-makers and the next generation come together to reflect on how culture can shape the future.
— Daniel Hope
Sessions
SESSION I
Who Will Shape the Future of Culture?
Leadership and the Next Generation
Daniel Hope, Setsuko Klossowskade Rola, Ilona Schmiel, Matthias Schulz
Friday, July 24, 2026 | 10 AM – 1 PM
Grand Chalet Balthus, Rossinière
CHF 40
SESSION II
Digital Transformation and AI in the Arts: Between Survival and Evolution
Jakub Fiebig, Dr. Clemens Trautmann,Dr. Patricia Ernst, Germinal Roaux
Friday, July 24, 2026 | 2 – 5:30 PM
Grand Chalet Balthus, Rossinière
CHF 40
SESSION III
Who Will Pay for the Culture of Tomorrow? Funding Models for the 21st Century
Peter Gartiser, Marie Babette Nierenz,Germinal Roaux, Setsuko Klossowskade Rola
Saturday, July 25, 2026 | 1 – 5:30 PM
Grand Chalet Balthus, Rossinière
Includes a concert by this year's String Academy participants
CHF 80
SESSION IV
Can Culture Achieve What Politics Cannot? The Power of Cultural Diplomacy
Jessica Lustig, Faouzi Skali,Marco Malagodi
Sunday, July 26, 2026 | 2 – 5:30 PM
Grand Chalet Balthus, Rossinière
CHF 40
Pass for all four sessions
CHF 150
Setsuko, Balthus and the Grand Chalet of Rossinière
In the mid-18th century, the enterprising cheesemaker Jean David Henchoz built an extraordinary house, originally intended to store his impressive cheese production — up to 600 wheels, which he sold at markets in Vevey and Lyon.
What began as the “Grande Maison” is today one of the most remarkable wooden houses in the entire Alpine region: 113 windows, 60 rooms — 40 of them habitable — and a monumental shingle roof that crowns the building like a protective canopy.
In 1852, the house was converted into a guesthouse and given its evocative name: Grand Chalet. It soon hosted distinguished guests such as Victor Hugo and Léon Gambetta.
A new chapter began in 1976, when the Polish-born painter Balthus acquired the property. A year later, he moved in with his wife, the Japanese painter and ceramic artist Setsuko Klossowska de Rola, and their daughter Harumi.
The Grand Chalet soon became a vibrant meeting place for the art world. Figures such as Yehudi Menuhin were frequent visitors. The encounter between Balthus and Menuhin during the 1993 festival in Rossinière remains particularly memorable.
Today, the foundation “L’Atelier de Balthus” preserves the artist’s legacy. A chapel in the heart of Rossinière, as well as the studio itself, are open to visitors.