The GAIA Music Festival invites you to explore the pursuit of self-optimisation and the realisation of dreams, with works ranging from Hildegard von Bingen to Daft Punk.

It’s probably a primal instinct of human beings to constantly strive for self-improvement and better living conditions. Harder, better, faster, stronger – the title of the well-known Daft Punk hit expresses this clearly. But self-optimization is only possible for those who believe in themselves: like Ravel, Takemitsu, Chopin, or Hildegard von Bingen, who were exceptional in their thinking yet never gave up on their dreams. And it paid off!

The GAIA Music Festival is a collaborative festival for chamber music and ensembles. Following non-traditional paths in its quest for innovative ways of sharing music, GAIA strives to make classical music accessible and continuously pioneers conceptually-driven events which include established, rarely-played, contemporary and specially-commissioned repertoire, as well as alternative approaches to their presentation. Young talents make music with established masters. Works are placed in new contexts, enriched with fresh impulses and staged in a way that seeks proximity to the audience – making it possible to experience listening in a new way.

Following the 2024 edition of the festival that focused on people and their journeys, the 2025 edition is dedicated to “Residencies” and a sense of arrival – with over 30 works from four centuries at seven venues in Bern, Thun and Hilterfingen.

Musicians
Alto Flute/Flute: Kaspar Zehnder
Clarinet: Moritz Roelcke
Harp: Alexander Boldachev
Violin: Anna-Liisa Bezrodny, Jesper Gasseling, László G. Horváth, Gareth Lubbe, Gwendolyn Masin
Viola: Martin Moriarty, Ivan Vukčević
Cello: Attila Kónya, Samuel Niederhauser, Martina Schucan
Double Bass: Jordi Carrasco Hjelm