Arosa Suite

“Alpenrose” – a suite about the invention and confidence of tourism in the Alps. Arosa Kultur invites you on January 13 at 6:15 p.m. in the evangelical church community hall to a teaching and entertainment piece of music, song, text and images about the history of tourism and the hospitality industry in the Alps. Laura Zangger, violin, Franco Mettler, accordion; Köbi Gantenbein, libretto, narrator, clarinet, singing; Ralph Feiner, picture slide show. St. Meinrad is a small village in the Alps. There, Josef Gadmer discovers how gold can come from nothing – he invents tourism. He turns his little home into the “Alpenrose” and soon it becomes the “Grand Resort Roses des Alpes.” And everything flourishes, everyone is doing well, and everything changes. The suite recounts in words, music, song, and images the marvelous transformation from the village to the city in the mountains. It tells the life story of the Gadmer family – farmers, confectioners, hoteliers, mountain railway operators, mayors, bankers, and musicians. And then the snow falls and many other things change – but the Gadmer family finds their footing. The suite about the invention of tourism is a chapter in the book “Singing Landscape” by Köbi Gantenbein. In it, he gathers 19 stories with music, song, and images. Their themes are the essence of the life and work of the long-time editor-in-chief of Hochparterre: seeing, protecting, and shaping landscapes. His librettos, the photographs by Ralph Feiner, and the music of his bands Bandella delle Millelire, Alpenglühn’, Tamangur Noise Express, Süsstrünke, Jenazerkapelle, and Fläscherorchester are compiled in his new book. Köbi Gantenbein. Singing Landscape. 19 suites and librettos about village, stream, tourism, and happiness landscapes. With images by Ralph Feiner and a musical album by Bandella delle Millelire. Edition Frida, Chur 2026. 45 francs. Fridamagazin.ch or at any bookstore. Köbi Gantenbein. Text and speaker - Ralph Feiner, image projections - Laura Zangger, violin - Franco Mettler, accordion