39th Radio France Festival in Montpellier: a musical program of a richness that defies understanding!

L'immense pianiste russe Evgeny Kissin donnera à Montpellier son seul récital de l’été en France. Felix Broede

The 39th edition of the major event brings together a fireworks display of exceptional concerts in the territory of the metropolis of Montpellier from July 8 to 20. Evguini Kissin, Renaud Capuçon, John Eliot Gardiner, Marianne Crebassa, Air, Henri Texier, Jeanne Added, Marc Ribot, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Pretty Yende, François-Xavier Roth… the number and quality of the guests are exceptional!

A challenge to the understanding! Ordinarily, the program of cultural festivals works like nesting dolls: a large event contains smaller events within which other events are held, etc., until the end of the year. rsquo;at our singular meeting with our intimate emotion. But the Radio France Festival, a new formula (a formula that can be described as magical), is nothing ordinary.

A reinvented, regenerated festival

It’is a major event in which, in defiance of physical laws, other major events fit into one another. Same size and of which elsewhere we would have as many large differentiated meetings… But we are in Montpellier, and as the mayor was pleased to hammer home once again, during the press presentation of the festival and president of the metropolis, Michael Delafosse, "it’is still spectacular that a metropolis like Montpellier, with just half a million inhabitants, which does not have exceptional fiscal wealth, manages to share such a cultural offer! If we think this is obvious, we are wrong!"

In this metropolis which wants to make the cultural extraordinary ordinary, the Radio France Festival can therefore be, for its 39th edition, this factory of insane gigantic events. "Why, I am asked, do you call it Le Nouveau Festival Radio France? To this question, I answer very simply: because every year, it's going to be a new festival!", said Michel Orier, the director of said perpetual novelty.

Whatever the success of the 2023 edition, the first under his reinventive leadership, he was not satisfied with duplicating it: "We must always re-examine what we do to may it always remain a burning inferno. But if it happens that it creates sparks when the embers are stoked, on Radio France, it creates fireworks!

Some examples… among 100!

An example, an event: the Bibliothèque nationale de France found the manuscript of an unpublished early work by Maurice Ravel. It was too good to wait for the Ravel year (2025), it will be created with Les Siècles by François Xavier-Roth and the Radio France choir.

An example, an event: the immense pianist Evgeny Kissin who has not forgotten what he owes to Montpellier, comes to give his only recital in the summer festivals in France with, assures Michel Orier, "a sublime program, of incredible intelligence and sumptuous musicality!"  (Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev).

An example, an event: after Paris, Montpellier will host the screening of the complete version, finally restored, of the silent film Napoléon by’ Abel Gance; or seven hours of crazy images spread over two evenings at the Berlioz opera, accompanied by music in the form of marquetry (drawing from 104 written works) recorded by the Orchester national de France, the Philharmonic Orchestra and the Radio France Choir.

An example, an event: worked by passion, drive, pulsation, the festival also seeks trance and offers itself on the same day at Domaine d’O, a triptych which should lead there: the libertarian saxophonist Sylvain Rifflet, the hypnotic composition by Steve Reich never played in Montpellier, Music for 18 musicians, and the group Air playing its cult album Moon Safari for its 25th anniversary.

An example, an event: the jazz section distributes its wonders between the Agora theater, the Amphitheater of ;rsquo;O and the Jean-Claude Carrière theater including an insane allstar with saxophonist Chris Potter and pianist Brad Mehldau, the great Indian’s life project by Henri Texier, the incredible vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant or the brilliant guitarist Marc Ribot in trio and the powerful trumpeter Avishai Cohen in quartet (the same evening!).

An example, an event: Tohu-Bohu, the electro-Dionysian section of the festival, leaves the Town Hall square for the more bucolic pine forest of the Domaine d’O to three extended evenings including a mind-blowing one, with 360 degree sound by Fip with Isolée live and John Talabot.

An example, an event: s’it opens with a large free concert of film music at Place de l’Europe , it is at the Berlioz opera that it will end with an exceptional revival of the symphony concert by the fantastic pop singer Jeanne Added.

There would still be so many examples, so many events to cite, but the festival has around a hundred concerts, and none that would not merit attention. Also remember that the ticket office opens online on March 13, and remember those events that interest you. You will see, they are there! lefestival.eu

A one-week advance edition

"The festival is brought forward by a week for a cyclical reason: great lords, we are leaving room for the Olympic Games after us, underlined festival director Michel Orier. But that suits us well because we had been eyeing this week for a long time: on the one hand to fit into this great arc which, for Montpellier goes from the Comedy of the Book up to us, via the Spring of Comedians and Montpellier Danse; on the other hand, to be right in the middle of the festival dynamic with Avignon for theater and Aix-en-Provence for lyrical art. We will try to stick to these dates, starting with the 40th, next year."

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