The Annecy Classic Festival

Musical festivals first caught the public imagination as entertainment in England at the beginning of the 18th Century. It took a while for them to spread further afield. Reaching mainland Europe by about 1772, by the early 1800s, the festival scene was already well-established in Germany. By the beginning of the next century, according to the Russian edition of the Riemann Musiklexikon, 1904, among the organizers and participants at such festivals were composers as Mendelssohn, Reich, Reinecke, Rubinstein, Spohr, Spontini, and Strauss. With a hint of regret, the entry notes that, ‘In Russia, by the way, this is an unknown phenomenon, apart from the Baltic governorates — Riga, Yuriev etc and in Finland’.

It was not until the 1960s that music festivals took root in Russia, almost simultaneously with France, but have flourished rapidly since. Today there is a full calendar of events, including a number of firmly established festivals attracting music-lovers from around the world. As well as inspired selection of a congenial well-appointed venue, establishing a new festival takes several years of carefully thought through programming, if for no other reason than to ensure the participation of outstanding musicians. Primarily it must have energetic and competent people, who are able to attract and wisely use financial resources.

This is exactly how we see the Annecy Classic Festival, held at this beautiful medieval French commune. For those who have visited Annecy there can be no mystery how this jewel at the Alpine foothills came to host the birth of a most imaginative modern music event. Its ancient streets and peaceful canals have given Annecy the sobriquet of The Venice of Savoie — a special background which could have been created especially for classical music.

The history of the Annecy festival reads like a fairy tale. Modestly began in 1967 by the renowned French pianist Eliane Richepin (1910-1999), for the most part the concerts were performed by local musicians for local audiences. Just before her death, Eliane handed the festival reins to her colleague, pianist Pascal Escande. But without adequate resources it became harder each year to keep the festival ship afloat.

Andrey Cheglakov — energetic, educated and successful Russian businessman, in neighbouring Switzerland shortly after 2008 when he set up an art support fund, he met Denis Matsuev the celebrated Russian pianist, who was then and still is a long-time acquaintance of Escande, the three men decided not only to reignite the nearly extinguished flame of the Annecy Festival but to breathe new life into it. Denis Matsuev, Pascal Escande and Andrey Cheglakov together determined to turn the Annecy Festival into a significant musical celebration. Thanks to their professionalism and enthusiasm, a rejuvenated Annecy Festival of Classical Music was firmly established by 2010. From previously a local event, today Annecy greets music-lovers from eminent cultural centres, from Geneva and Lyon, from other French and Swiss towns and from nearby countries. Concerts attract important media attention and past festivals can be visited on key music channels and Internet portals.

Indeed, a remarkable renaissance! Since 2010 the AVC Charity Foundation has been patron, primary sponsor and organizer. Given the Foundation’s commitment, the Festival has become one of the most exciting music events on the European map, thanks to the committed support of well-established performers and personalities. It evolves continuously — an orchestra-in-residence; the creation of a campus for a youth orchestra; master classes by distinguished musicians and concerts by young musicians in the Castle Museum. Among star performers who feature regularly at the Annecy Classic Festival are Yuri Temirkanov, Valery Gergiev, Charles Dutoit, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Vladimir Spivakov, Yuri Bashmet, Denis Matsuev, Nelson Freire, Nikolai Lugansky, Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon and Julian Rachlin.

The Festival has become a solid ‘musical bridge’ between France and Russia whose ties go back to the 18th Century, rich with memorable milestones — French opera and ballet companies at the Russian Imperial Court; the Hector Berlioz historic tour of Moscow; the Diaghilev Seasons in Paris and many, many more. The Annecy Festival, revived on French soil by Russian people, symbolizes a progressing stage of our cultural union.

The AVC website, featuring the Festival’s music personalities, as well captures the unique atmosphere and environment of the Venice of Savoie — its lake, canals, mountains and architecture. Annecy inspires musicians and audiences. Listen on the internet to musical masterpieces interpreted at the Festival by great orchestras and peerless soloists, by young and aspiring talents from France, Russia and beyond. But we confidently urge you to experience this beauty yourselves, at first hand.

See you at the Festival!

Lev Ginzburg