Brief Review

Music & Literature

Switzerland’s best-known musical form is probably yodelling, which developed as a method of long-distance communication and as a way of calling in the cows. The alphorn was originally a signalling instrument that originated in Asia and was introduced to Switzerland by nomadic tribes. The Swiss adapted it to play songs toward the end of the 18th century.

Church music was the only form of classical music played in Switzerland until the 17th century, after which choral ensembles appeared, followed by symphony orchestras in the early 20th century. Switzerland is host to a number of popular classical music festivals, including the Lucerne Festival and the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, and of course the world-renowned Montreux Jazz Festival.

Literature | The best-known works of Swiss literature are, interestingly enough, children’s books. The classic, Heidi, written by Johanna Spyri (1827-1901) in the 19th century, and The Swiss Family Robinson by J.D. Wyss remain perennial favourites.

Both Jean-Jacque Rousseau (1712-1778) was born in Switzerland, though became a writer in France and Germaine de Stael (1766-1817), though born in Paris, was of Genevan parents and fled to Switzerland after being exiled by Napoleon. Her lover was the Swiss writer Benjamin Constant (1767-1830).

Hermann Hesse (1877-1962), though German-born, became a Swiss citizen in 1923. His works, such as Siddhartha, Steppenwolf and Narcissus and Goldmund, explored spiritual questions such as the uneasy coexistence of body and spirit and the individual’s search for the inner self. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1946.

Playwright and novelist Friedrich Durrenmatt (1921-1990) wrote dark, satiric comedies about the struggle for freedom and justice in post-Nazi Europe.