Concert for Peace in Geneve
CONCERT FOR PEACE
A Tribute to Saint Francis of Assisi, Forerunner of Multilateralism
The Concert for Peace – a tribute to Saint Francis of Assisi, Forerunner of Multilateralism – will take place in Geneva at the Grande Salle de Plainpalais (Rue de Carouge 52) on Sunday, October 4, 2026, at 7:00 PM. The event marks the eight-hundredth anniversary of his death and falls on the day that has once again become a national holiday in Italy.
The event is organized by Ars Pace and the Italian Cultural Institute in Zurich, in collaboration with the United Nations University for Peace, Re-Imagine Peace, the Heidiseum Foundation, the Geneva Peace Forum and the Yehudi Menuhin Forum Bern. It is held under the Patronage of the City of Assisi, the City of Geneva, the National Committee for the Celebration of the Eighth Centenary of the Death of Saint Francis and the Dante Alighieri Society.
Ars Pace President Enrique Barón Crespo and the Director of the Cultural Institute in Zurich, Raffaele Pentangelo, will introduce the concert concluding the “Ascent of Francis into Dante’s Paradise” project – a series of five events held in significant locations including Zurich, Lausanne, Madrid, Assisi, and Geneva. This Ars Pace initiative aims to foster a new path of dialogue, culture, and peace centred on the figure of Francis, whom Dante Alighieri commemorates, following his passing, in Canto XI of *Paradise*.
The evening features an evocative musical journey divided into three parts.
In the first and second parts, we will enjoy performances by three renowned masters: Sebastiano Brusco (piano), George Georgescu (cello) and Anastasiya Petryshak (violin).
The first part includes three pieces – J. Massenet’s *Méditation*, Bach/Gounod’s *Ave Maria*, and F. Schubert’s *Impromptu Op. 90 No. 3* – interspersed with narration by Monica Baldi (Vice President of Ars Pace) and Anna Rüdeberg (Chair of the Ars Pace Scientific Committee).
The second part features Kreisler’s *Liebesfreud* followed by Fauré’s *Élégie*, alongside Chopin’s *Fantaisie-Impromptu* (Op. 66), Liszt’s *Liebestraum* No. 3, and Rachmaninoff’s Prelude Op. 32, No. 12. Subsequently, the three musicians will perform Beethoven’s *Gassenhauer* Trio (Op. 11, Adagio) and Morricone’s “Love Theme” from the film *Cinema Paradiso*.
In the third part, the Rector of the United Nations University for Peace, Francisco Rojas Aravena, and the President of the Heidiseum Foundation, Peter Otto Büttner, will speak, joined by three children who will deliver messages of peace in French, English, and Spanish.
The Grand Finale will feature the famous Israeli singer Noa, accompanied by guitarist Gil Dor. Together with Palestinian singer Mara Awad, they founded the Re-Imagine Peace Festival – an initiative aimed at fostering dialogue through culture and the arts – which enjoyed great success at its debut in Florence last July.
Noa (Achinoam Nini) will perform the following songs together: *Rise Again* (A. Cappella introduction), *There Must Be Another Way*, *A Word*, *Think of Others*, *Look at Me* and *Little Loving* – songs from the “Letters to Bach” project – as well as the magnificent *Ave Maria*.
Vice President Baldi (the event’s creator) stated: <Cultural diplomacy is a powerful tool for promoting the values of peace, and I believe this goal is shared by the governmental and non-governmental international organizations based in Geneva. The Ars Pace initiative fits into an institutional framework of mature ideas and projects for peace cooperation, to which we add a reflection on individual freedom in light of the experience of Saint Francis, a precursor of multilateralism.>
(painting by Elisabetta Rogai)
