Welcome!
Here you will find up-to-date information about our concerts, who we are, and what we do. There is plenty of parking available around the concert hall in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The hall also offers a wide selection of food and wine at the Union restaurant. Additionally, you can stay affordably at the 4-star Art Deco Hotel Athmos, just a 3-minute walk from the hall. Another 3-minute walk takes you to the SBB La Chaux-de-Fonds train station. BLS offers a direct train to Bern (1 hour). You can also take a bus or postal bus (available at the station) for a comfortable and eco-friendly ride to Neuchâtel. From Neuchâtel, you can access various trains to Lausanne, Geneva, Fribourg, Zurich, Basel, and St. Gallen.
What to expect
20 January 2026 – Offenbach Lecture, Centre de culture ABC, 8.00 pm
Tuesday 20 January 2026, 8.00 pm, Centre de culture ABC, La Chaux-de-Fonds. Historian Jean-Claude Yon, the leading biographer of Jacques Offenbach, gives a lecture in connection with the Offenbach Gala on 21 January. The evening sheds historical and cultural light on Offenbach’s career, his role in 19th-century Parisian musical life and the creation of his major stage works. The audience will discover the context of pieces such as Orphée aux Enfers, La Belle Hélène and La Vie parisienne, as well as the changing reception of Offenbach up to the present day. Booking for this lecture is already open, offering a perfect opportunity to prepare for the gala and to delve deeper into the satirical and dazzling world of the “Mozart of the Champs-Élysées”. Information and booking page: https://www.abc-culture.ch/event/2270/
21 January 2026 – Offenbach Gala, Salle de musique, 7.30 pm
Wednesday 21 January 2026, 7.30 pm, Salle de musique, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Grande Série. Introduction at 6.45 pm by François Lilienfeld. The Offenbach Gala brings together Les Musiciens du Louvre under the direction of Marc Minkowski with Marina Viotti (mezzo-soprano) and Lionel Lhote (baritone). The programme presents a rich selection of excerpts from Orphée aux Enfers, La Belle Hélène, La Jolie parfumeuse, La Vie parisienne, La Périchole, Die Rheinnixen, La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein and Le Voyage dans la Lune, showcasing Offenbach’s melodic invention, irony and theatrical energy. From the famous Orphée overture to brilliant arias and vibrant dance numbers, this interval-free evening celebrates the satirical spirit and fantasy of French opéra bouffe, performed by a leading period-instrument ensemble and two of today’s most exciting voices. Please note: only a limited number of tickets remain for this concert!
30 January 2026 – Bach Mirror, L’Heure bleue, 8.15 pm
Friday 30 January 2026, 8.15 pm, L’Heure bleue, La Chaux-de-Fonds. The duo formed by French pianist Thomas Enhco and Bulgarian marimbist Vassilena Serafimova presents the project “Bach Mirror”, in collaboration with the Société de Musique. Drawing on motifs, harmonies and rhythmic impulses from Johann Sebastian Bach, the two artists create thirteen original pieces conceived as musical mirror games, combining improvisation, recomposition and transcription. The programme resonates with references to the Trio Sonata BWV 528, the Violin Partita BWV 1002, the Chaconne BWV 1004, the Orchestral Suite No. 3 BWV 1068 and to famous chorales such as “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” BWV 147 and “Sheep May Safely Graze” BWV 208. The warm sound of the marimba merges with the incisive clarity of the piano to form a vivid and contemporary portrait of Bach. Please note: only a limited number of tickets remain for this concert!
1 February 2026 – Nouveaux Talents, Salle de musique, 5.00 pm
Sunday 1 February 2026, 5.00 pm, Salle de musique, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Série Nouveaux Talents, broadcast live on RTS Espace 2. Three young artists share the stage: Augustin Lipp and SeongYeon Kong (marimba) and Martin Egidi (cello). The programme spans baroque, romantic and contemporary music, with The Breath of the Tree II by Keiko Abe, Bach’s Cello Suite No. 6 in D major BWV 1012, excerpts from Schumann’s Waldszenen op. 82, three short pieces by Nadia Boulanger, a page by Brahms (Herzlich tut mir verlangen op. 122), a new work by the duo ZOOT’ (Luca Musy & Mathias Cochard) and The Cave of Rebirth by Tigran Hamasyan. The concert showcases percussive virtuosity, the expressive voice of the cello and the stylistic curiosity of a new generation of performers.
3 February 2026 – Expédition Mozart, Salle de musique, 7.30 pm
Tuesday 3 February 2026, 7.30 pm, Salle de musique, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Grande Série, with an introduction at 6.45 pm by François Lilienfeld. The “Expédition Mozart” project by Kit Armstrong gathers the pianist with a large chamber ensemble: violinist Andrej Bielow, the Schumann Quartett, the Quatuor Hermès, Jeanne Bonnet (double bass), Ramón Ortega Quero and Ángel Luis Sanchez (oboes) and Milena and Alessandro Viotti (horns). Entirely devoted to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the programme combines two piano concertos (No. 13 in C major KV 415 and No. 9 in E-flat major KV 271 “Jenamy”), the Piano Quartet in G minor KV 478, the Oboe Quartet in F major KV 370 and two solo piano pieces (Minuet KV 355, Gigue KV 574). The evening offers a multi-faceted insight into Mozart’s writing between chamber music and concerto, tracing different phases of his creative evolution.