Daniel Hope has been named the new Intendant and Artistic Director of the Gstaad Menuhin Festival and Academy.
The Festival was established by violinist Yehudi Menuhin in 1957, after the director of tourism asked him to "enhance the summer season with some concerts." Hope has close ties with both the Festival and its director: he became Menuhin's protégé when he was two years old, attended the Festival since childhood, and there made his performance debut in 1992.
Hope expressed his delight at the appointment, saying: "The Gstaad Menuhin Festival was the starting point of my relationship with music: it was here that I had my first ever encounter with classical music as a small child. It was also where I was allowed to turn the pages for the festival artists from the age of 11, and when I finally made my official debut at the festival in August 1992, Yehudi Menuhin himself was sitting in the audience. To summarise: Gstaad is so much a part of my musical DNA that it doesn't matter where I am in the world. Music and the Bernese Oberland - for me, this is the perfect symbiosis."
Aldo Kropf, the Festival's Chairman of the Board of Directors, is similarly pleased, saying "[Hope] brings with him a worldwide network and the necessary experience for this demanding role, which will be a great asset for the festival and the Gstaad Saanenland region. His close connection to our festival, its founder Yehudi Menuhin, and to the Saanenland will also be extremely valuable for us."
Hope is no stranger to directing and curating music festivals and concert series: he is also Music Director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and New Century Chamber Orchestra, Artistic Director of the Frauenkirche Dresden, and President of the Beethoven House in Bonn.
Hope will start his new role in November 2025, succeeding Christoph Müller who occupied the post for 24 years.
