Are you looking to spend your summer away from the beaten track? If so, here is the guide for you. We've put together ten ideas for classical music festivals in France that are truly unlike the rest of the pack. In the forest, in a truck, above the clouds or at the waterside, a wine glass in hand, walking, singing, dancing or improvising: there's something here for every style and every taste.
1Festival des Forêts (21st June to 12th July)
If your top priority is to avoid the heatwaves, you are well aware that green spaces are the perfect refuge. And none better than the Forêt de Compiègne, the fifth largest national forest in the country and one which, as it happens, hosts a unique classical music festival. Highlights include a “musical forest bath”, a three-hour immersion amongst the trees in the company of fascinating musicians like flautist Samuel Bricault, guitarist Antoine Morinière, soprano Anousha Nazari and more. And for those who prefer to avoid mixing their pleasures, hikes and concerts are available separately.
2Musique & vin au Clos Vougeot (22nd to 29th June)
Did you know that there are musical instruments named after fine wines? There's a simple reason: every year, in Burgundy, there's an auction of wines from the great vineyards of the region, whose proceeds go towards the manufacture of an instrument by one of the great luthiers of our time. The instruments are then offered to carefully selected young talents. All this happens under the aegis of a festival with a keen nose, and not just for blending grape varieties: the concert programming features a host of stars ranging from Gautier Capuçon to the Hagen Quartet, by way of Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Yuja Wang and others. It goes without saying that the concerts are preceded by wine tastings.
3Festival uNopia (4th to 6th July)
Guihem Fabre's famous piano truck is still exploring new roads. Since the first edition of his festival last year, the pianist has been accelerating his efforts: this time, his stage-on-a-truck will be parked once more in the mountains of the Ardèche, for an edition as accessible as the last one in both spirit and price. It contains a gamut of artistic offerings, each as enticing and original as the next: a Bruno Rigutto recital, a piano spectacle with Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, a cooking-themed one-man show, a musical stroll, a Balkan ball. And if you like your music on the move, fasten your seat belts and follow the truck on its madcap trip around Europe, from 14th to 30th July: Bonn, Leipzig, Prague and Vienna are all on the itinerary for this musical road trip.
4Festival du Haut Limousin (11th July to 2nd August)
Trying to escape the big cities and the main roads, and flee the crowds? Here's the festival for you: the Ferme de Villefavard is an astonishing haven of peace which just happens to have a barn with perfect acoustics, in which renowned artists come to record albums. In this barn (and in the surrounding churches), the Festival du Haut Limousin offers high-quality programming such as David Kadouch, Théo Fouchenneret, the Agate Quartet, Marc Mauillon and Les Surprises. And if poetry is your thing, the icing on the cake will be the “rendez-vous de la Guinguette”, which offers meetups with authors and poets ahead of dinner and the concert.
5Piano Pic (15th to 26th July)
A piano recital at 2,877 metres. Mission impossible? Not in the Pyrenees. The Piano Pic festival is crafted for lovers of the heavens and the 88 keys. For its 28th edition, the event continues its tradition of a concert at the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, a venue renowned for the quality of its high-altitude sky, which delights stargazers. Pierre Réach will play Schubert, Debussy and (of course) Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. But if you suffer from vertigo, never fear: most of the events happen in the Halle aux grains at Bagnères-de-Bigorre, at a far more reasonable altitude!
6Musique et Mémoire (18th July to 3rd August)
With its name straight out of Tolkien, the Plateau des Mille Étangs (“Plateau of a thousand swamps”) evokes an imaginary place of fantastic landscapes. This site at the eastern tip of France is still very wild and very much real. It also hosts a festival which showcases local heritage to create spectacular experiences, like a percussion recital that will take place in the astonishing Chapelle de Ronchamp, built 70 years ago by Le Corbusier. But the programming, totally devoted to Baroque repertoire, is truly worth the visit in its own right, given the quality of the ensembles who will be appearing - Les Traversées Baroques, Les Timbres, Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien, Alice Julien-Laferrière and her Ensemble Artifices.
7Classic’ à l’Ouest (16th to 29th July)
Let's head for the opposite tip of France, to a Brittany peninsula far from everything and everyone except lovers of the GR34 hiking trail, surfers... and the military (there's a nuclear submarine base there). Between the neoprene suits and the naval uniforms, you can also come across musicians invited by the fascinating festival Classic’ à l’Ouest. Not content with bringing top-class artists of the calibre of Claire Désert, Karine Deshayes or Romain Leleu to this remote location, it also strives to spotlight works of Breton composers. And it has developed the charming habit of ending every concert with a glass of cider.
8Écho des falaises (22nd and 23rd August)
We have rarely seen such a family-oriented festival. Over two days, l’Écho des falaises takes place in the beautiful grounds of the Château du Profil, not far from the Normandy cliffs. Centred on a kernel of musicians from no less an outfit than the Orchestre de Paris, the festivities include two chamber music concerts plus a concert for young audiences, musical storytelling, improvisation and composition workshops for ages 10 and above, sound installations in an orchard and meetings with artists. And that's not to mention open-air games and on-site catering. In short, here is a festival which feels like a giant family celebration, with the chance for grown-ups to stay up late by the open-air stage, while the little ones curl up in a deckchair.
9Nos Jours Heureux (21st to 24th August)
Here's a newcomer to the classical music festival landscape under the artistic direction of Julie Fuchs, and the least one can say is that the soprano is making a big impression. Its speciality? Tango! There are many introductory workshops to help you get familiar with the dance, and then musicians and DJs light up the meadows of the small village of Saint-Bonnet-du-Gard deep into the night. For the rest of the time, less surprisingly, it's voice that comes to the fore, with concerts alternating between opera arias, ensembles and choruses. And before the festival (from 18th to 21st August), there's an amateur choral workshop available to anyone wanting to sing at the opening concert.
10Musiques en Tonnerrois (28th to 30th August)
At the junction of the departments of the Yonne, the Côte d’Or and the Aube stands the Château de Maulnes, a strange 16th-century architectural creation in the shape of a perfect pentagon. At the foot of its walls and in the whole Tonnerrois region, a remarkable team organises three days of festivities open to all. The concert programmes range from Dowland to composers of today, with a considerable section devoted to new compositions (this year's commission has been awarded to Pascale Citron). The morning rehearsals are open to the public, allowing the curious to get a sneak preview of what's in store later. Meetings, conferences and unclassifiable artistic offerings from readings to a one-woman show all serve a single purpose: to show that never has music been more alive and more free.
Translated from French by David Karlin
