There were gentle gasps inside the valley-shaped concert hall when Mischa Maisky quietly took his seat among the audience. With his iconic long hair and Indian necklaces, the world-renowned cellist became just another audience member, waiting for five classical stars to perform Schumann's Piano Quintet in E-flat Major.
"We're all musicians who try to communicate through music, a unique and universal language," said the artist at the first Asian edition of the Verbier Festival, which concluded in Shenzhen on Feb 8.
The festival's decision to venture beyond its Swiss Alpine origins created immediate anticipation after its August 2025 announcement. Of the 23,000 tickets sold, roughly 70 percent went to audiences from outside Shenzhen. Beneath the wood-and-glass canopy of Shenzhen Concert Hall, the crowd reflected a rare cosmopolitan mix.
Music lovers flew in from places like Dubai and Vladivostok. Jean-Philippe Jutzi, former cultural counselor of the embassy of Switzerland in China, came with his wife. Both have been volunteers for the festival in Switzerland. Audience member Preetha Pillai from Singapore was waiting in line with her piano teacher Ms Lim, who has also taught her nephews, sister and mother. "I saw that the festival was coming to Shenzhen on Instagram and wanted to hear Martha Argerich again," Pillai says. "I mentioned it to my teacher, and she immediately started looking for tickets."
The audience response was spontaneous. Mikhail Pletnev, conducting Beethoven's Symphony No 1 in C Major, was so insistent that he asked the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra to repeat the majestic final movement as an encore. "The audience is really enjoying the music. It's absolutely simple and beautiful," says Maisky.
When the artists did return to the green room, the mood was familial. Artists exchanged stories and discussed repertoire like old friends. Festival founder Martin Engstroem often describes Verbier as a place of "challenge", a catchphrase he loves. Another catchphrase is "pocket money", which he refers to whenever asked about how much he pays these superstars.
The camaraderie is also evident. Beloved artists like Maisky, Pletnev, Joshua Bell, Gautier Capucon, Janine Jansen and Daniel Blendulf (who are a couple) appeared in several concerts featuring works by composers from Johann Sebastian Bach to Dmitri Shostakovich, and female composers like Rebecca Clarke.
The Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, with members from leading orchestras on different continents, performed symphonic works by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Dvorak. The orchestra was merged into a single unit by the magnetic conductor Gabor Takacs-Nagy. Joshua Bell also conducted the orchestra in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor.
But it was the chamber programs that attracted die-hard fans, who listened to artists from Blythe Teh Engstroem and Daniel Lozakovich, to Timothy Ridout and Minsoo Sohn. Pletnev, Bruce Liu, Denis Kozhukhin and Alexander Malofeev performed not only solo recitals, but also in duos, trios, quartets, quintets, and sextets respectively. Sir Bryn Terfel joined conductor Gianluca Marciano, performing at the Longgang International Arts Center completed ahead of schedule for the occasion.