carnival of the animals

This family concert, organised by ANDERMATT MUSIC in cooperation with the Uri Music School and the musical talent advancement programme of Canton Lucerne, promises to be a highpoint for young and old alike.

This cross-generational project features pupils from the Music School, the Swiss Orchestra under the baton of Raphael Immoos, and the skiing legend Bernhard Russi as narrator. The young musicians of the Uri Music School, under the direction of Christian Zgraggen, will bring animal-inspired musical surprises to the stage of the Andermatt Concert Hall and demonstrate their talent. More advanced youngsters will play short orchestral works side by side with the Swiss Orchestra, experiencing unique moments of music-making with a professional orchestra.

The highpoint of the afternoon will be a performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’s “Carnival of the Animals”, a “great zoological fantasy” – thus the work’s full title – which offers a wonderful introduction to the world of classical music. Saint-Saëns depicts assorted animals over the course of 14 short movements, during which he also takes the opportunity to provide humorous parodies of his fellow composers. While there are always some in the audience who can’t wait to hear the beautiful, proud swan glide over the water just before the close of the work, there is a lot else to discover before then. There is the majestic entrance march of the lion, the lumbering awkwardness of the elephants, the calls of the cuckoo in the forest, the cantankerous braying of the donkey, the nimble keyboard-hopping of the kangaroos, the flustered chickens, and the ancient fossils that arise to declare unexpected ebullience. Nor should we forget the fish in the aquarium, whose air bubbles ascend to the surface of the water to create one of the most charming gems in the whole history of music.

The story of this “cultural event of thrilling uniqueness” – thus the German text for the work penned by the famous humourist Loriot – will be narrated by Bernhard Russi, who returns to the Andermatt Concert Hall in the wake of his celebrated debut with “Peter and the Wolf”.