Kit Armstrong, piano
Monday, August 31, 2:00 pm - Sasso San Gottardo Museum, Gotthard Pass
The Sasso San Gottardo Museum is located in the kilometers of tunnels and vast caverns of the legendary Gotthard Fortress. In its "Exhibitions" section, it features the only permanent exhibition in Switzerland dedicated to Goethe and his three journeys over the Gotthard Pass. Numerous figures followed in Goethe's footsteps, including the composer and piano virtuoso Franz Liszt during his travels through the Swiss Alps.
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Program
Kit Armstrong, piano
Recital: "Goethe and Liszt at the Gotthard Pass" with works from Franz Liszt
Monday, August 31, 2026 2:00 p.m.
2:00 pm: Meet at the main entrance of Sasso San Gottardo Special guided tour of the only permanent exhibition in Switzerland about Goethe and his three journeys through the Gotthard Pass
3:00 pm: Piano recital with Kit Armstrong at the Crystal Cavern
Mignon's Song – arranged by Kit Armstrong
Festive march for the Goethe anniversary
Grechen from the Faust Symphony
Settings of various poems by Goethe
Vallée d’Obermann
4:00 pm: Apero and artist talk discussion with Kit Armstrong Ride on the Metro del Sasso to the historic fortress
5:00 pm: End of the event
Tickets: CHF 100 plus advance booking fee, bookable online only (link) No tickets available at the door.
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To have an enjoyable time please be aware of the following facts:
Dress code: warm clothing, closed shoes, casual; Goethe Exhibition and Concert Hall are heated; Access tunnel, connecting passages, and historic fortress: 6 degrees Celsius F
Parking: free parking directly in front of the main tunnel at the Gotthard Pass summit
Public transport: Take the Treno Gotthardo (SOB) to Airolo or Andermatt PostBus connections to the Gotthard Pass summit stop
Restricted photography and videography are permitted. Please note that photos and videos may be taken for publication on various media channels and platforms.
To stay: A wide selection of hotels is available in Andermatt, Hospental, and Airolo.
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Concert Deep Inside the Earth
On Monday, August 31, at 3:00 p.m., the museum welcomes a contemporary, Goethe-like figure: The world-renowned pianist Kit Armstrong will perform works by Franz Liszt deep inside the Earth. Even for the well-traveled and internationally acclaimed artist, the performance at Sasso San Gottardo is sure to be a special occasion. In the crystal cavern, guests and the artist will be surrounded by granite over two hundred million years old, Goethe's "primordial rock," which he also studied at the Gotthard Pass. The cavern is located about 400 meters from the main entrance on the Gotthard Pass and boasts excellent acoustics. The accompanying program also allows guests to enjoy a special guided tour of the museum's Goethe exhibition.
Following the concert, there will be an opportunity to chat with Kit Armstrong over refreshments. Since seating is limited to a maximum of 80 guests, the concert will take place in an intimate, family-like atmosphere! A Goethe-like multi-talent: Hardly any other young artist is as skilled in so many fields and as universally educated as he is. Alongside his musical training with Alfred Brendel, Armstrong studied physics at California State University, chemistry and mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania, and earned his master's degree in mathematics from the University of Paris. The multilingual artist is equally at home in the world of music and science. As a pianist, he performs in venues such as the Musikverein in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonie, the NHK Hall in Tokyo, and the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. He has appeared with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. A thinker at the piano who understands music as an intellectual universe Kit Armstrong combines the highest virtuosity with an extraordinary intellectual penetration of the works, which he often analyzes from memory, contextualizes historically, and illuminates anew from a dramaturgical perspective. The multi-award-winning pianist is known for creating programs of conceptual depth and placing music from the 16th to the 21st centuries in surprising intellectual contexts. The New York Times hailed him as a "brilliant pianist who combines musical maturity and youthful boldness in his exceptional playing." Alfred Brendel, who has been Kit Armstrong's teacher and mentor since 2005, credits him with "an understanding of the great piano literature as a unity of feeling and intellect, freshness and refinement." The unique relationship between Armstrong and Brendel was captured in the film "Set the Piano Stool on Fire" by British director Mark Kidel. The New York Times hailed him as a "brilliant pianist who combines musical maturity and youthful audacity in his exceptional playing." Alfred Brendel, who has mentored and taught Kit Armstrong since 2005, attributes to him "an understanding of the great piano literature as a unity of feeling and intellect, freshness and refinement." The unique relationship between Armstrong and Brendel was captured in the film "Set the Piano Stool on Fire."
Kit Armstrong, piano
Is there such a thing as the ideal form of music-making? Kit Armstrong is certain: it is chamber music. “My ideal is the coming together of versatile soloists who know how to play their different roles, sometimes prominent, sometimes accompanying, sometimes supporting, but always creating tension,” says the cosmopolitan.
Alfred Brendel called him the greatest musical talent he had ever encountered in his entire life.
Kit Armstrong is not only one of the best pianists of our time, he is also an organist, composer, and conductor. He also studied natural sciences and mathematics and graduated with a master's degree.
Born in Los Angeles in 1992, Kit Armstrong began composing at the age of five and received his first piano lessons shortly thereafter. He later studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and the Royal Academy of Music in London. At the age of thirteen, he met Alfred Brendel, who had a strong influence on him as a teacher and mentor.
In addition to his musical education, Armstrong also studied science and graduated with a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Paris. As a pianist, he now performs in venues such as the Musikverein in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonic, the NHK Hall in Tokyo, and the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. He has performed with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra, working with Herbert Blomstedt, Riccardo Chailly, Kent Nagano, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Christian Thielemann.
Armstrong is intensely devoted to chamber music, particularly in collaboration with violinist Renaud Capuçon, cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, tenor Julian Prégardien, the Quatuor Ebène, and the Armida Quartet. Since 2016, he has also been giving recitals on the organ.
Kit Armstrong is also a successful composer and has received commissions from the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Schubertiade Hohenems, the Konzerthaus Dortmund, and the Musikkollegium Winterthur. In 2013, he purchased the Église Sainte-Thérèse in Hirson (Picardy), France, where he has since organized concerts and exhibitions.
His latest project: Kit Armstrong combines art and music
With a project developed especially for the Ruhr Piano Festival, one of the most artistically curious young pianists is coming to Essen for four days: Kit Armstrong is realizing his dream of bringing painting and music together. From May 22 to 25, he will place various keyboard instruments in different rooms of the Museum Folkwang, on which he will interact musically with the exhibited works of fine art. The audience will accompany him and have the opportunity to engage in conversation with the pianist and with each other during this encounter.
Further information at Kit Armstrong