The 42nd edition of the Festival Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo takes to the stages of the Principality this March, with an impressive and varied selection of cultural activities.
With offerings ranging from classical concerts to contemporary music, from recitals to ballet, here is a flavour of what will be on the programme at this year’s Festival Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo.
The opening event on March 11th is a performance by La Venexiana, an ensemble which specialises in Baroque and Renaissance music. They perform a selection of madrigals by Gesualdo and Monteverdi, interspersed with an accordion duo XAMP, who play a combination of Japanese and Balinese traditional music.
Video via Festival Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo on YouTube
The following evening the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra plays the first of two concerts. This performance features Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for String Quartet, played by four soloists from the Philharmonic, followed by Debussy’s Images, by the entire Orchestra. The main work was written by Marc Monnet, artistic director of the Festival for nearly 20 years. Under the leadership of Pascal Rophé, the Philharmonic performs the world premiere of his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, which was commissioned by the Festival.
In the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic’s second appearance, on April 4th, they perform Olivier Messiaen’s only symphony – the immense Turangalîla Symphony. The symphony, played by over a hundred musicians, was written between 1946 and 1948 on a commission by Serge Koussevitzky for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with two soloists playing piano and ondes Martenot, an early electronic musical instrument.
On 20th March, the Festival features a completely different event, in which Caravaggio – an instrumental ensemble which incorporates rock, contemporary jazz, electronic and classical Western music – perform their latest creations. This performance, commissioned by Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo. features violinist-singer Diamanda La Berge Dramm and viola player and multi-instrumentalist Garth Knox.
Video via francois sales on YouTube
In the “chamber opera” on 21st March – titled Wagner, Wotan, François et les autres – François Salès tells the legend of the magic ring which was set to music by Richard Wagner in the four operas of his Ring cycle. With his English horn, he introduces his audience to Wagner’s musical world, telling of the legend of the Ring of the Nibelung, which is very similar to that of The Lord of the Rings, and recalls childhood memories at the Marseille opera house.
On March 22nd, the Yessaï Karapetian Quintet presents a jazz concert. This French-Armenian jazzman and his quintet released their first album in 2022, simply titled Yessaï. The quintet now incorporates two traditional instruments from Yessaï’s native country – the duduk, a very old double-reed instrument with a warm, mellow tone, and the blul, an open-ended shepherd’s flute made of apricot wood. With this new lineup, the Yessaï Karapetian Quintet plays pieces from his first album as well as new compositions, always trying to cultivate “a daring dialogue that transcends the national and ethnic barriers while celebrating them”.
Les Ambassadeurs ~ La Grande Écurie appear in two concerts on March 26th and 27th, retracing the rise of the piano concerto during the 18th century. Featuring Johann Sebastian Bach’s harpsichord concertos to the Mozartian golden age, Mozart’s Concerto No 23 is preceded by exciting scores full of dramatic effects by the sons of the great J S Bach.
Video via Schubert FLORES VASSELLA on YouTube
Olivier Latry, a towering figure among organists, is the featured artist at the Cathédrale de Monaco on April 1st. He performs a programme journeying across the history of the organ, from Bach to the French music of the last century. Inspired by the Passion and Penitence organ pieces by J S Bach, together with works of Marcel Dupré, Jean-Louis Florentz and Olivier Messiaen, he will delight his audience with a wealth of emotions, from tenderness to pain, from distress to hope.
In a candlelight concert-reading on April 5th, playwright Dorian Astor uncovers the hidden face of Hector Berlioz. Drawing from the many texts written by the composer, he takes his audience through the creative jubilation of the artist, as well as through his struggles, his grandeur and his ferocious humour. Blending the music with the composer’s own words, Quintette Moraguès and pianist Claire Désert journey across Berlioz masterpieces, such as the Symphonie fantastique, Nuits d’été, La Damnation de Faust and L’Enfance du Christ.
Video via Maison des Cultures du Monde – Centre français du patrimoine culturel immatériel on YouTube
Also on April 5th, the latest in a long line of Hindustani musicians renowned for their exceptional mastery of the flute and the shehnai, Rishab Prasanna showcases his art of raga, together with tabla player Abishek Mishra. In this virtuosic and poetic concert, the physical agility of the musicians brings in many shades of timbre and subtle melodic and rhythmic changes that will fascinate aficionados as well as curious minds.
Finally, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo present Postlude – Miniatures from April 16th to 19th.
For the Printemps des Arts 2004, then artistic director of the Festival, Marc Monnet, had commissioned “miniatures” from seven composers, which had then been choreographed by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. This year, one of the seven 2004 commissionees, Bruno Mantovani, the present artistic director, had the idea of extending the experience. He invites his audiences to rediscover two of the ballets created 22 years ago, and four new creations commissioned from four new composers and choreographers.
The 42nd edition of Festival Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo runs at various locations throughout the Principality from March 11th to April 19th. For further information and details of reservations, please visit the Festival website.
VENUE DETAILS
PHOTO CREDITS
- Lead image courtesy Festival Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo
- All videos as credited
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