Summer Sounds - An emergency solution has been found

Freude herrscht! The traditional Zug music festival can now take place - with a significant change to the concept, admittedly. But the "emergency solution" has turned out to be a unique alternative with special advantages.

You certainly not be entirely wrong to talk about the planning of this year's Zug Sommerklänge Festival (Zug Summer Sounds Festival) as being a protracted birth or having to run the gauntlet. As a result of the Corona crisis, the 20th edition of the festival has put the organisers to the test. "Until recently, we were completely unsure whether the festival could take place in any form at all," says artistic director Madeleine Nussbaumer. For a long time, it was unsure whether the relaxations of the lockdown would take place as planned and– above all – whether the musicians from abroad would be allowed to enter the country.

"The whole organisational process has been so nerve-wracking since March, the whole thing always seemed to be about to run onto the rocks. There were moments when you would have preferred to simply give up."

A unique opportunity
But everything has turned out well in the end: the organisation of the ‘Summer Sounds 2020’ is now cut and dried, the musicians are booked, the venue is fixed. And it’s the last item that marks the biggest difference to the usual festival concept: there will not be five unusual venues this year, but only one. "The necessary safety measures simply would not have been feasible for some of the planned venues," says Peter Hoppe, co-organiser and communications officer. And safety comes first.

But then there was a stroke of luck: Nussbaumer and Hoppe were able to find a place for all the five thematic concerts.  The newly built Zephyr Hangar of the V-Zug company offered a number of advantages. Not only is the voluminous, 40-by-90-metre-large wooden hall with a high shed roof an industrial location with a remarkable architecture, it has also proved to be a unique opportunity that will not arise again so quickly: the Summer Sounds’ takes place in exactly the time window in which the recently completed hall is still empty. As soon as the last notes fades away, the V-Zug production operation will start up  here, processing metal elements and designing and manufacturing tools. Concerts would then hardly be conceivable again. Despite the slightly different auspices, the Summer Sounds 2020 will also be characterised by the usual one-off situation.

It has also been shown that, despite its huge dimensions, the hall has excellent acoustics, says Madeleine Nussbaumer.

Huge, brand new and with amazing acoustics: the wooden hall of the Zephyr Hangar of V-Zug.

Encounters for the soul
"What counts most for us now is that the musicians can finally perform again," she adds. You can hardly imagine how difficult it has been for them while the whole cultural scene has been paralyzed. "The plight of the musicians was a special driving force for us in getting the festival off the ground," adds Peter Hoppe. And the audience is also longing to finally experience live concerts once again, and to enjoy some real contact with the musicians. "It is precisely such encounters that nourish the soul. So it is existential for both sides. It was a big concern for us that this would be possible again," says Peter Hoppe. "The musicians were therefore overjoyed that there was finally a green light for the ‘Summer Sounds 2020’."

Ensuring that everyone can feel safe
Another particularly important advantage of the Zephyr hangar at the moment is that its dimensions allow a 100% "corona-compliant" operation. There is enough space everywhere and at all times for the necessary social distance between visitors. Access is via a stairwell or a large elevator. The seating allows flexibility: if you want to feel even safer, just sit a little further away. There will be hardly no loss of quality in enjoying the music.

And this enjoyment is also guaranteed in the anniversary edition: as always, the programme is extraordinarily wide-ranging, with both classical and not-so-everyday sounds, high-calibre performers interpreting familiar, the  less well-known, rare and, above all, many surprising pieces of music (see box). As is tradition, the Zug Chamäleon ensemble will kick-off the festival, with festival director Madeleine Nussbaumer on the piano.

2020 concert program in the Zephyr Hangar of the V-Zug

5 July, 5 p.m.: "Phoenix from the ashes" – The Zug Chamäleon ensemble plays works by Antonin Dvorak, Kelly-Marie Murphy and Gustav Mahler  
12 July, 5 p.m.:  "Homeland (Heimat)" – The Calmus Ensemble plays works by the Leipzig masters Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Christoph Bach, Johann Christoph Altnikol, Johann Gottfried Schicht, Ernst Friedrich Richter, Gustav Schreck, Felix Mendelssohn, Wilhelm Weismann, Kurt Thomas, Max Reger and Fredo Jung
19 July, 5 p.m.:  "Winter Journey (Winterreise)" – Ian Bostridge (tenor) and Julius Drake (piano) interpret Franz Schubert's "Winterreise"
July 26, 5 p.m.: "Accordion Cocktail" Draeger Simbiriv and Co.– a programme following announcements, with Patricia Draeger, Sergej Simbirev and Faruk Muslijevic playing the accordions, together with André Pousaz on double bass and Samuel Baur on percussion
August 2, 5 p.m.:  "Meeting point in Salzburg (Treffpunkt Salzburg) " – Esther Hoppe and Friends; a string quintet comprising Esther Hoppe and David McCarroll (violin) , Veronika Hagen (viola), Clemens Hagen and Christian Poltéra (cello) plays works by Jean Baptiste Barriére, Antonon Dvoik and Franz Schubert.

More information about the programme and reservations: www.sommerklaenge.ch