Hervé Boissière: “People are definitely available for emotion and magic.”

What’s your Verbier Festival survival kit ?

First, inspiration. The wish to do the best, to deliver the best possible for the artist of the day — or the days, because, as you know, most of them stay for a few days, for several concerts — and for the public. Because each experience at the Verbier Festival should be mind-blowing and unforgettable, we have a big responsibility to make that happen.

So, you know, my survival kit is to keep the energy and the momentum, to be able to deliver that. And of course: some vitamins, my phone, etc. And a good Ricola — which is the official bonbon (candy) of the festival. I always have that in my pocket to make sure I’m still alive.

What’s one thing people never see that is crucial to making the festival work?

The dedication of the teams because all year long there are hundreds of people working backstage. People may not see it, but they can feel it. And it’s great that they don’t see that, because that’s our duty to keep it a secret.

After all, when something is going well, you don’t really see how it’s done. It’s like in a restaurant: you have your dish on the table. It’s superb, but you don’t want — or need — to see how many hours of practice and learning, how many years of experience went into achieving that result.

What’s really fascinating is the intensity of the festival, which is extremely short — three weeks — after eleven months and one week of preparation which can seem a bit abstract at the time. You talk about something constantly, but you’re never sure how it will turn out in the end.

But in the end, there is a kind of alignment of the planets that brings everything together. Suddenly, you have the best artists on stage playing something truly amazing, and the hall is full of people. Everyone is actively looking out for every detail. This is the kind of determined work behind the scenes that we love to coordinate and encourage. And we make sure that, in the end, nobody sees it, leaving only the magic on stage.

I love it.It’s like going back to my medici.tv years. The best compliment I could receive at that time was when people were telling me, “Oh! We didn’t see it being filmed! I didn’t see the cameras!” 

That was perfect, because for me, it was exactly what we were looking for: something which was great, because the archive was existing, but at the same time nobody saw the mics, nobody saw the cameras, nobody saw the logistics behind it. And when I was hearing that I thought, okay, we did a good job because people forgot us. 

It’s like you’re a violinist practicing years on one bar of a concerto – people don’t understand that, but, that’s perfect, so there is no active work to keep it secret, but it’s even better when people forget that and just receive the emotion. They are definitely available for emotion and magic. That’s it.

Watch the most unforgettable moments of the 2025 Verbier Festival on medici.tv.

Can you tell us about a magical Verbier moment that still gives you chills?

Impossible question. I mean, to be personal and go back to medici.tv: the very first live streaming of medici.tv in 2007 will stay forever in my mind, because that was the beginning of a very special adventure.

For the story — I’ve told this a few times — it was 2007, July twenty-something, Brahms’ Requiem, conducted by Manfred Honeck. He jumped in because James Levine, who was supposed to conduct, was sick. So Manfred came in at the last minute to replace him. It was the very first live streaming of medici.tv.

2007 was kind of the early days of streaming, so the team was super limited. We’re talking about five, six people, working all day to make sure everything would work. Ten minutes before the show, everything was okay. But five minutes before the show started… Everything collapsed! All the servers, the machines, the computers — everything was down.

So I said, “Oh my gosh, I’m afraid I’ll experience my own Requiem,” because it would have been a massive catastrophe if it didn’t work. I had to go backstage to meet the maestro, and I asked him, “Can you give me two additional minutes? We have an issue with the live streaming.”

He was already inside his music, in his concert mood, so he was really not happy to have someone he didn’t know come just before going on stage. But he was very kind, very nice, and he said: “OK, you need two minutes, but not more.”

So I ran to the HobbyVan, where the video production unit was, and said: “Guys! We have two minutes, so find the solution immediately, otherwise, we are dead.” And that, of course, is what happened. In 30 seconds, they found the solution and it worked. Manfred Honeck finally walked on stage, we pushed the button, and it was live worldwide.

The day after, I met Thomas Quasthoff, who was singing the Requiem. He was smoking a cigarette and told me: “My gosh, I don’t know what you did yesterday, but all my family in Boston and Philadelphia watched us, and it was amazing! They loved the music, they loved the features, they loved everything! Incredible. It’s the first time ever they were able to follow my concert live.” Because in the US, you know, there is almost no more public television for classical music.

So that was a nice message, a nice encouragement. And the rest is medici.tv. So for me, this particular moment was really unforgettable, because it was the first ever live broadcast from Verbier, but also, it’s where everything started.

How do you keep innovation alive in a festival with more than 30 years of history?

Hopefully we have this challenge in front of us, because we know very clearly that we have to extend the audience — but also to renew it. 

Every festival is getting older with its audience, by definition. And vice versa. Especially after 32 years. ’94 marked a generation of public that popped up with the festival — they were 20, 30, 40 years old. But they are 32 years older today. 

So of course our wish, our goal, our need is to convince new people to come to the festival. But I think it’s a good moment for that, especially because of the performing arts effect, which is bigger than ever. 

The more the world becomes digital, virtual, social media-driven, full of fake news… the more people will look for authenticity. Real emotion. Real connection with the artist. Real opportunities to dream, to fill your life and your brain with something true and high quality. 

For me, that’s why there are so many people in concert halls — in every musical genre, not only classical music. There’s a clear necessity to reconnect with the truth. And the artists are the best ambassadors for that. To make your life better, to bring a new perspective, to help you dream bigger.

So I think we have a momentum — a very positive one — for developing, for innovating. And what is really interesting, and it’s an opportunity, not a risk, is that for the first time in classical music history, we are in front of a public that is not educated to classical music. That’s new. 

Before, it was always a kind of social marker, transmitted by tradition, by education. Kids were learning an instrument, or dancing for the girls. All the clichés, you know — but it was really rooted in tradition. 

Today, people have fewer references. The traditions are more vague. They didn’t receive that institutional training, and sometimes they don’t even know exactly what we’re talking about. 

The way people listen to music has also completely changed. Before, we had full recordings of a work and now people listen to playlists with excerpts. The rules of the game have totally changed. But the good news is: more people have access. 

Before, it was only for connoisseurs: a limited number of people. The bourgeoisie, or for corporate events. You know, when a CEO wanted to invite his clients, he had his lodge at the opera. 

Now, the new tech generation, the new entrepreneurs, they don’t care about Carnegie Hall or the Verbier Festival. They care about Taylor Swift at Madison Square Garden. 

But at the same time, thanks to streaming and playlists, there is a new generation, maybe not so well educated about Boulez, Bach or Chopin, but they respond to the emotion. To the power of music.

So the potential of newcomers, of listeners, of music lovers, is much bigger. Our job at the festival is to reach them and to open the conversation with them, through the storytelling, through the verbatim they want. 

That’s why I’m super optimistic about our capacity to renew the public. Because the starting point will never change: people need human experiences. That special, extraordinary emotion of a guy performing on stage. It’s… la vérité(the truth). No bullshit. 

You are naked on stage, in front of 2,000 people. And if you don’t create something totally magical, unforgettable, the public will be very severe. Very tough. So both sides know it’s a historic rendezvous. And it works. 

Classical music — the music is so good, so strong. It’s like a painting, or a book. You don’t need to be educated to understand the huge power of Shakespeare, or Van Gogh. You just get it.

 You say, “Pshhh. I feel something. I don’t know anything about it, but I know it’s good material.” That’s enough to open the door. That’s Bach, for example. “Oh, wonderful, this guy was playing a harpsichord.” So yes — the key is reaching out to the younger generation.

What’s one piece of music every human should hear at least once?

At least once? Of course, I will not name a single piece because it’s impossible. The answer doesn’t exist. 

I would say then: one piece which is performed with the best honesty. Two days ago, we had a fantastic example with Teodor Currentzis — Shostakovich 5 — which is of course not the piece everybody has to listen to once in their life, because there are so many masterworks. 

But the way it was performed, that was something you should listen to once in your life. You should experience the quality, the dedication, the honesty that was living between this huge orchestra of 18, 20, 25 year olds, being conducted for the first time ever by this conductor, being in Verbier for the first time ever. 

The intensity, the honesty they put together made this Shostakovich 5 a game changer. 

So, to answer your impossible question: to be lucky enough to have once in your life the possibility to be there, at that moment, when something magic really happens. 

It can be the Goldberg Variations with Yunchan Lim a few days ago. I can say Goldberg Variations, because it’s a shift between many, many topics. It can be Shostakovich 5 because it was totally remarkable. Tonight, we’ll have another masterwork with the Brahms Violin Concerto.

So I think it’s more important than the piece itself, because music is so subjective, right? 

I mean, I’m a huge fan of the Goldberg Variations, but friends of mine say, “Oh my God, it’s so boring, it’s repetitive all the time” (laughs) — with all these variations. And I respect that. Because it’s just a question of emotion. It’s totally subjective. 

You can say, “Oh my God, I love The Sunflowers of Van Gogh,” and your neighbour will say, “Oh my God, this guy is horrible, he doesn’t know how to draw a flower.” The famous Picasso faces are another example. 

There is enough genius in humanity to have a huge choice. And suddenly, this piece will touch you, will move you, and it will stay in your heart forever. 

For me, maybe a game changer was The Ring, you know? I was a kid when I saw it on TV — The Ring, from Bayreuth. It was still live on television. Can you imagine? So of course I’m talking about the late ’70s. 

Pierre Boulez was conducting The Ring. Patrice Chéreau was staging this iconic, mythical technology. It was live on TV, on a Sunday evening. I had never heard a Wagner note in my life. 

I was 10 years old. 

I saw that, I received that, and it changed my life forever. Since then, every time I hear one note of Wagner, I’m happy. I’m just happy, you know? 

And for many people, Wagner is absolutely impossible: it’s too complicated, too heavy, too aggressive, too whatever etc. 

For me, it’s exactly the opposite. It’s just a moment of heaven. Of personal connection. And you cannot predict when the emotion will be higher than others. It’s not an exact science. 

That’s why it’s magical. Because art is escaping all logic. That’s why art is art. But the only right answer is: come to a concert, listen, and then fill your life with that. It starts like that.

Watch Wagner’s complete Ring Cycle here, or (re)discover Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony conducted by Teodor Currentzis here on medici.tv.