Dr. Hansheiri Inderkum and Josef Schuler are the heads in the background of the SAC

It is well known that Dr. Hansheiri Inderkum was President of the Council of States in Switzerland in 2010/11. But who knew that the Altdorf resident picked up the recorder as a little boy and later played the violin enthusiastically? And that he has been an ardent fan of the Vienna Philharmonic since childhood? It is similar with Josef Schuler, whose work as cultural representative of the canton Uri (1994 to 2018) is well known. But in private, very few people know, he played the clarinet in a small amateur band (“Folk music is my musical home”). His favorite composer is Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849). The two politicians from the canton of Uri are united by their passion for music, and they are united by their great commitment to the Swiss Alps Classics, which this year celebrates its fifth anniversary from June 2nd to 5th. Inderkum and Schuler, who are also jointly involved in the Dätwyler Foundation, have been on the Festival Advisory Board since the beginning. They are two of the most important minds behind the Swiss Alps Classics.

Hansheiri Inderkum has been a member of the Dätwyler Foundation's board of trustees since it was founded in 1990 (“I am the dinosaur there”); He has been the Foundation's President for 20 years. Josef Schuler has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2019. So the two personalities are, to a certain extent, double committed to the Swiss Alps Classics, because the Dätwyler Foundation supports the festival in a very special way. "The Dätwyler Foundation is of essential importance to us, and not 'only' in economic terms - its commitment to our festival is inspired in the truest sense of the word by the burning passion of these gentlemen and the other members of the Board of Trustees," says Clemens Hellsberg , the Artistic Director of the Swiss Alps Classics, expressing his great gratitude for the services of Inderkum and Schuler. He also explicitly mentions attorney Barbara Merz Wimpfli, Vice President of the Dätwyler Foundation, who is also a member of the Swiss Alps Classics Advisory Board.

Inderkum tells an anecdote about his first meeting with Clemens Hellsberg, the long-time first violinist and director of the Vienna Philharmonic: “I was a fan of the Vienna Philharmonic even as a young boy. When festival founder Peter-Michael Reichel introduced me to Clemens Hellsberg in 2017, it was a huge experience for me. Suddenly there was a man in front of me whom I only knew from television. ”The anecdote also shows how humble and personable the once highest-ranked politician in Switzerland is, who still runs his law firm in Altdorf. A “wonderful experience” for him at the Swiss Alps Classics 2019 was the concert by Dieter Flury, the Küsnacht-born solo flutist and former director of the Vienna Philharmonic. And of course the 2018 performance of star pianist Lang Lang in the Theater Uri in Altdorf was "a major highlight in the history of the festival". The 73-year-old, who represented the canton of Uri in the Council of States from 1995 to 2011, also says: "As an advisory board member I may be biased, but for me the Swiss Alps Classics is the pearl among the music events in the canton of Uri."

Inderkum cites the main reason for getting involved with the festival: "I wanted Andermatt, which has experienced rapid economic development as a result of Samih Sawiris' major project, to be culturally revitalized." Josef Schuler expresses it very similarly: “The old village of Andermatt has received a variety of impulses from the new Andermatt. Now a cultural inspiration was important. "

Schuler, who lives in the mountain village of Isenthal, was a primary school teacher for 20 years before he became head of the Office for Culture and Sport in the canton of Uri and at the same time studied cultural management at the University of Bern between 1996 and 1998. The 67-year-old, who tirelessly stands up for culture, has many merits: As a representative of the canton, Schuler supported the establishment of the Alpentöne music festival and the Theater Uri as well as the House of Folk Music. For him, the concert by world star Lang Lang in the Theater Uri was a "dream that has come true". He likes the “professionalism of the festival with a great organizational team and the 'Viennese element' that has found its way into Andermatt's culture through the Austrian family Reichel and Clemens Hellsberg”.

Of course, Josef Schuler and Dr. Hansheiri Inderkum will be among the festival guests again this year. Inderkum has already worked for the concert of the Swiss Alps Chamber Ensemble under the direction of Emmanuel Tjeknavorian in Disentis (Monastery Church / June 4th) and for the end of the festival with Marisol Montalvo's one-woman show "Mad Scene" in Andermatt (concert hall / June 5th). The two personalities, whose passion and networks are so important for the Swiss Alps Classics, send best wishes for the anniversary. “I hope that the festival will continue for many years to come,” says Schuler. “I hope that it can be expanded even further,” says Inderkum. “I hope that at some point we will realize the vision that philharmonic orchestras from Vienna, Berlin and Amsterdam will perform together here. And I would like to see better coordination between the music projects of Samih Sawiris, the founder of the Easter Festival, Jörg Conrad, and the Swiss Alps Classics. "

The Dätwyler Foundation is a non-profit foundation based in Altdorf. It supports projects and institutions across Switzerland that are geographically, thematically or personally related to the Canton of Uri. “Without the Dätwyler Foundation, our event would probably not exist. We are deeply indebted to this institution,” says festival founder Peter-Michael Reichel.

You can access the video with impressions of Andermatt on our YouTube channel.