Switzerland
Verbier Festival: Simon Rattle Conducts Ligeti, Wagner, Rachmaninov, and Strauss
British conductor Simon Rattle led the Verbier Festival's second major symphonic evening on July 21, 2026, directing the Verbier Festival Orchestra. This temporary ensemble of young musicians from around the world, of which he is artistic director, performed a program bringing together György Ligeti, Richard Wagner, Sergei Rachmaninov, and Richard Strauss. The evening opened with Ligeti's Atmosphères, performed without pause before Wagner's Lohengrin Prelude. The festival's first major evening had been devoted to Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie.