Venues & stages
Salle del Castillo
- Type
- Concert hall
- Address
- Rue Louis-Meyer 1, 1800 Vevey
Set by the lake on the market square of Vevey, the Salle del Castillo owes its name to Andrés del Castillo, who in 1904 gave the town a donation to build a concert hall. The Vevey architect Charles Coigny designed it, and the building, completed in 1908, was first called the Casino du Rivage. A full renovation between 2009 and 2014 restored its original look while modernising it. It now hosts concerts, shows and events, run by the Fondation des Arts et Spectacles.
One hall, several spaces
The Salon Clara Haskil
On the first floor, a sixty-two-square-metre salon bears the name of Clara Haskil, the pianist who lived on the Vevey quays from 1942 until her death. It opens onto a panoramic view of Lake Geneva and the market square. Above it, a second space is dedicated to Camille Saint-Saëns, while the Grande Salle, of four hundred and thirty-two square metres, can hold several hundred people.
It is only fitting that the memory of Clara Haskil should resonate in this house, her name kept alive in Vevey by the international piano competition.
From the Casino du Rivage to the Espace Camille Saint-Saëns
Under its first name of Casino du Rivage, the hall was one of the hearts of the Fêtes musicales de Vevey, from 18 to 21 May 1913, given in honour of Camille Saint-Saëns under the direction of Gustave Doret. The composer conducted several of his works there and played two pianos with Ignacy Jan Paderewski. Critics hailed “one of the greatest displays of art ever held in our country”.
The house has kept the memory of it: above the Salon Clara Haskil, a space today bears the name of Camille Saint-Saëns. Two musicians, two floors, one and the same lakeside hall.
The bust of Henri Plumhof
On the first floor of the hall watches a marble bust: that of Henri Plumhof (1836-1914), a composer, organist and choirmaster who was, in the nineteenth century, the craftsman of Vevey’s musical renaissance. The town placed it here, in the former Casino du Rivage, at the very heart of its house of music.
Related artists :Clara HaskilCamille Saint-SaënsHenri Plumhof