A musical feast in France

(The Times)


Welcome to the 2008 Festival

The Festival de Valloires was launched with huge success in August 2006. A chamber music festival of international allure, it presents music making of the highest quality featuring some of the world’s greatest artists in the intimate and idyllic surroundings of the 18th Century Cistercian Abbaye de Valloires in Picardy, Northern France. It also introduces some of the most brilliant artists of the new generation to an international audience, who come not only to enjoy the music but also to participate in the unique Valloires atmosphere, meeting like-minded music lovers or first timers in the Abbey Gardens and Cloister, enjoying the splendour of the Abbey Gardens (where we organise special events) or mingling with the artists during informal post-concert dinners in the Abbey dining room.

Uniquely placed as it is within easy striking distance of four major capital cities - Paris, Brussels, London and Amsterdam - the Festival de Valloires has attracted a hugely enthusiastic international audience. It has also attracted a considerable amount of attention in both the national and international press and media, with major newspaper articles in France and the UK as well as extensive radio and TV coverage.

Each year the Festival focuses on the work of a central composer, which it places alongside one of the "greats" of the 20th Century. In 2007 it was Beethoven and Shostakovich.
In 2008 the Festival will focus on the music of Schubert and Britten and we have a mouth-watering line-up of musicians: Imogen Cooper, who has been central to both the 2006 and 2007 Festivals, returns to open the 2008 Festival with a solo recital. The tenor Mark Padmore, also a star of the first two Festivals, returns to continue his unique partnership with Imogen Cooper. English tenor Ian Bostridge and pianist Julius Drake come to Valloires for the first time, as do pianists Cédric Tiberghien and Paul Lewis. One of the most exciting quartet of our time, the the Belcea Quartet will be appearing, as will the remarkable young Dutch mezzo soprano Christianne Stotijn. A trio of remarkable young string players comes to Valloires: Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova returns after her huge success in 2007, and she will be joined by French viola player Antoine Tamestit and Swiss cellist Christian Poltéra. Also making their Valloires debut is the exciting and innovative Dutch wind quintet Calefax.

Concerts and masterclasses, historic buildings and gardens, not to mention the post-concert dinners with the artists in the beautiful surroundings of the Abbey restaurant: what better way to spend a few summer days? I look forward to welcoming you at Valloires in August 2008.

Adam Gatehouse
Director