Vevey

Ignacy Paderewski and Camille Saint-Saëns met at the Casino du Rivage during the four-day festival – from 18^th to 21^rd May 1913 – inspired by composer Gustave Doret and music aficionado Eugène Couvreu, the Mayor of Vevey. This encounter gave rise to one of the most legendary concerts ever held in Vevey.

« The audience was enraptured »

« A huge crowd had gathered outside the Casino du Rivage, amidst a continuous flow of cars, while the audience converged », recalls Fédia Muller in the Gazette de Lausanne from 17^th April 1941. « Tickets had been sold out for a long time. Two grand pianos presided back to back centre stage; under orchestra trumpet acclaim, Paderewski sat down at the left hand side piano. Mr Camille Saint-Saëns took place at the piano on the right, acclaimed by the same orchestral fanfare. The audience was enraptured. »