Annecy Classic, the Haute-Savoie’s Fifth International Music Festival, continues apace with a host of internationally accomplished and acclaimed orchestras and soloists and stellar young musicians.

On the third afternoon, at the Annecy Castle Museum, Romanian pianist Cadmiel Botac (Winner of the 2014 Astana Piano Passion International Competition of Young Pianists — special prize awarded by Denis Matsuev); French pianist Esther Assuied (Winner of the International 2014 Piano Campus Competition) and Simon Buerki from Kiev (Winner of the 2014 Kiev International Competition) gave tremendous performances of Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff and Scarlatti.

In the evening, at the Church of Notre Dame of Liesse, the King’s Consort, the baroque ensemble and chorus directed by Robert King, gave a stunning performance of Handel’s Messiah. These were the most precious moments of the festival, when the audience listened breathlessly to the divine sounds of Handel’s most loved oratorio.

Victor Alexandrov, the AVC Charity Foundation music reviewer