Éditos
Jean-Paul Cluzel l Georges Frêche l René
Koering
2008 Vintage
True to its reputation—and
to that of its director, René Koering—, it is under the double theme
of discovery and fidelity that this 24th edition of the Radio France
– Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon Festival opens, an event eagerly looked
forward to by spectators and listeners. First of all, the musical discoveries—Ildebrando
Pizzetti’s Fedra, Louise Bertin’s Esmeralda and Pergolesi’s Salustia—with
hopes that they will receive the attention they deserve alongside the
great repertoire works.
Then there are the discoveries of
artists, too, as we give young soloists a chance to appear in the Salle
Pasteur and attract the attention of France Musique listeners. As for
the presence of Natalie Dessay, Aldo Ciccolini, Jean-Paul Scarpitta and
so many others, does this not attest to a mutual attachment of artists
to a top-flight musical event? For this great summer get-together, Radio
France has mobilised its forces, stations and music groups: the Orchestre
National, whose appointed music director, Daniele Gatti, will be making
his first appearance in Montpellier; whereas the Orchestre Philharmonique
and Chorus of Radio France will perform Arthur Honegger’s rarely-heard King
David. France Musique, with its magazines, jazz evenings and live
concerts, will enable all of France—and even listeners of European radios—to
experience the Festival.
As for France Culture, there is no
doubt that the famous Rencontres de Pétrarque will, like every
year, manage to impassion the spectators of the Cour des Ursulines by
the thousands, and listeners by the hundreds of thousands.         Â
Finally, France Inter,
France Info and France Bleu will also effectively support the Festival
activity, without overlooking FIP and the Mouv’, henceforth in charge
of programming the world music and electro.
I am confident that this new edition
will be another resounding success.
Jean-Paul CluzeL - Chairman
and Managing Director of Radio France
The Region is now the leading partner of the
Radio France – Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon Festival. Since 1985,
this festival has become one of the largest and most dynamic events in
France and all of Europe, with nearly 115,000 spectators attending very
year, invited to discover internationally renowned artists and top-quality
works and incontestable musical standards.
Concerned with the development, dynamism and quality of the Radio France
– Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon Festival and true to its slogan of ‘access
to culture for all’, the Region has reinforced its support and commitment
by becoming the Festival’s major partner in 2008. On its initiative, the
Radio France Festival is becoming more regionalised, thereby creating a
network throughout the whole territory. A cultural asset of top importance,
the Radio France – Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon Festival contributes
to the Region’s influence in France and round the world. Through a coherent
artistic policy, it gives concrete form to the implementation of its multiple
vocations: restoring to favour works that have either disappeared or are
rarely heard; fidelity to a community of leading performers; bringing to
light young soloists or international competition winners at the outset
of their careers; the discovery of contemporary creation as well as jazz,
world music and electro. For its 24th edition, this promises to be a festival
of exceptional, prestigious programming: symphonic music, chamber music,
jazz concerts, current music styles, unfamiliar operas unearthed, exhibitions…
This
year, 15 instruments made by Antonio Stradivari will be presented at
the Fabre Museum
for the whole duration of the Festival. Old accents and the sounds of
tomorrow, classical and the unexpected, are reconciled in an offer that
is both multi-facetted and coherent. A project that is simultaneously
artistic, cultural, social and territorial, the Radio France Festival
opens on a note of accessibility and illustrates the cultural policy
implemented by the Region.
Georges FrÊche -
Président de la Région Languedoc-Roussillon
To open this 24th edition on 14 July, the Radio France – Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon Festival
will propose a grand, festive evening with, among other guests, a rare,
dream orchestra for all musicians: nothing but Stradivarii in the artists’
hands. True to its reputation, the 2008 Festival announces several
unknown operas: Louise Bertin’s La Esmeralda on Victor Hugo’s
only original libretto, Ildebrando Pizzetti’s Fedra and Pergolesi’s Salustia,
which will be directed by Jean-Paul Scarpitta.
The staging of Purcell’s King Arthur by Corinne
and Gilles Benizio (alias ‘Shirley & Dino’), with Hervé Niquet conducting,
promises to be quite surprising—to say the least. Ensembles present for
this new edition will be the Orchestre National de France conducted by
its new music director, Daniele Gatti; the musicians of the Orchestre
Philharmonique de Radio France and the Radio France Chorus for Honegger’s King
David; the Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon,
also conducted by its next music director, Lawrence Foster; the Ural
Philharmonic Orchestra for two concerts; the Latvian Radio Chorus and
La Cappella della Pietà de’ Turchini.
The Festival will welcome a host of prestigious artists
including Aldo Ciccolini, Christian Zacharias, Vadim Repin, Augustin
Dumay and Alexander Kniazev, and will close the 2008 edition with a dazzling
evening featuring Natalie Dessay, Jonas Kaufmann and the Orchestre National
de Montpellier conducted by Michael Schønwandt. Every day you will
find all the events that are henceforth traditional:
Les Jeunes
Solistes at 12.30 pm, film projections with SACEM at 3.00 pm,
chamber music at 6.00, jazz concerts with France Musique at 10.00 pm
at the Amphithéâtre d’O, world music with FIP, the ‘Rencontres
de Pétrarque’ with France Culture, electro music with the Mouv’,
and evermore numerous Festival incursions throughout the region.
RenÉ Koering -
Artistic Director of the Festival
