The small port of Erbalunga has become, in Corsica, the meeting place for music lovers.
We regularly hear in this festival, which has existed since 2012, artists with a marked musical personality.
That we will not necessarily come across in other summer events.
This edition takes place until August 2 in the open-air theater of Erbalunga, as well as in the square courtyard of the Palace of the governors of Bastia.
Erected in the 14th century by the Genoese facing the Mediterranean, the building called "Bastia" in Italian, gave its name to the city.
We will listen in particular to Severin von Eckardstein (July 31), winner of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth of Belgium competition in 2003. This German artist deploys, within very thoughtful interpretations, a deep, inhabited game.
This was particularly the case, during his concert at the Salle Cortot in Paris in November, in
Gaspard de la nuit
by Ravel.
This time he will play
Robert Schumann's
Kreisleriana , but also some
Fairy Tales
, pieces composed by Nikolai Medtner, a contemporary of Sergei Rachmaninoff.
The young Martin James Bartlett (August 2) performed in 2016 before the Queen of England.
He happily agrees to play sometimes in front of other audiences.
This 26-year-old pianist, who looks like something out of a
Kingsman
movie , has as much energy as finesse.
Two qualities that befit the pages he will perform here: Bach's
Choral “Jesus May My Joy Remain” BWV 147
or the
Suite in A minor: gavotte and six doubles
by Haydn.
Will come after the intermission Rachmaninov (
Vocalise op. 34 n°14
) and
Valse
de Ravel.
How will the Briton handle this second part?
Read alsoThe Menuhin festival in Gstaad, an ever-rich score
In the rest of the programme, Anna Tsybuleva (July 27), winner of the Leeds competition in 2015, will play
Polonaises
,
Valses
and
Nocturnes
by Chopin, as well as
Brahms' tempestuous
Sonata No. 3.
The Belgian Florian Noack (July 29) will perform his own transcriptions of
Scheherazade
by Rimsky-Korsakov, as well as pieces by Sergei Lyapunov, a composer long in the shadow of Rachmaninoff.
The pianist has been heralding it for several years, devoting two records to it.
He will give to hear some of his
Transcendent Execution Studies
.
“More than a tribute to Liszt, whom Lyapunov venerated, [it is a] almost confraternal extension of the latter's transcendent studies”
, confided the pianist last year.
Erbalunga Piano Nights Festival
, until August 2.