David Garrett and His Del Gesù Club: The First Public Concert at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival

On 26 July 2026, David Garrett brought his Del Gesù Club to Gstaad, culminating in the Club’s first-ever public concert as part of the Gstaad Menuhin Festival at the historic Church of Saanen.

Founded by Garrett in 2022, the Del Gesù Club brings together owners and players of violins by the legendary Cremonese maker Giuseppe Guarneri “del Gesù.” This year marked the Club’s fifth gathering, and for the first time, its closing concert was opened to the public as part of the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, offering audiences a singular opportunity to experience an extraordinary collection of historic instruments in concert.

Garrett led the evening, introducing the individual violins and performing six pieces himself. The concert featured 26 exceptional Cremonese instruments, including 21 Guarneri “del Gesù” violins, four Stradivari violins and a 1733 Carlo Bergonzi. Among them were instruments once associated with legendary violinists such as Yehudi Menuhin, Karol Lipiński and Johanna Martzy.

Reflecting on the Club and the shared passion at the heart of its annual gatherings, Garrett told The Strad: “It was like an open candy store. These meetings are perhaps my favourite two days of the year.”

The three-and-a-half-hour concert concluded with Garrett performing Schumann’s Träumerei, bringing a remarkable evening celebrating some of the world’s finest historic violins to a close.

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