In La Seyne-sur-Mer, the international Sand & Chopin festival brings back to life pianos from the Romantic era

For ten years, the Sand & Chopin en Seyne festival has paid tribute to the novelist George Sand and the composer Frédéric Chopin. The program includes classical music concerts accompanied by 19th-century pianos.

It is in the heart of the sumptuous Fort Balaguier that the festival is in full swing. Until August 25, Sand & Chopin en Seyne welcomes a host of international artists who shine the spotlight on romantic music. A rich program to celebrate the tenth edition of this festival created in 2015. This major event was created under the impetus of the internationally renowned Seyne soprano Chrystelle Di Marco and her husband Gabriel Boz, a lecturer specializing in classical music.

Sand & Chopin en Seyne has the particularity of offering concerts with grand pianos dating from the 19th century. Treasures collected by Chrystelle Di Marco and her husband. It was also the purchase of a legendary John Broadwood & Sons piano, made in England in 1840, that gave the couple the idea to found the festival. “He’s really the one behind its creation because we wanted to offer the public something different. There are concerts everywhere, but with this type of instrument, there are very few,” notes Gabriel Boz. “In addition, it is the defense of a heritage”, adds the co-founder of Sand & Chopin in Seyne.

“Some people consider these instruments to be old things, but they are really historical objects that have things to say.”

Since August 19, the music of Gabriel Fauré, Camille Saint-Saëns, Franz Liszt and, of course, Frédéric Chopin, among others, has been resonating at the foot of the tower of Fort Balaguier. Concerts headlined by great names in classical music. Pianist Rémy Cardinale, who is used to playing on historical instruments, opened the show. Soprano Chrystelle Di Marco, accompanied by pianist Antoine de Grolée, sublimated the second evening of the festival with the recital After a dream.

On Wednesday, August 21, the young virtuoso and prodigy Daisuke Yagi, winner of the 2023 Lyon International Piano Competition, will perform. The festival, which mixes stars and young talents, will also welcome three promising artists on Thursday, August 22. Pianist Clément Chatelain will perform Liszt, Chopin and Ravel. A concert called Talentissimo completed by the performance of violinist Masaki Morishika and pianist Nao Takahshi.

Another highlight of the festival is the traditional evening that mixes texts by the author George Sand and compositions by Frédéric Chopin. The novelist and the Polish musician had an affair that lasted eight years. In 1861, George Sand stayed several months in La Seyne-sur-Mer. “George Sand did us the honour of coming to La Seyne-sur-Mer. It was important to highlight this emblematic personality,” specified Chrystelle Di Marco, in 2016, on the occasion of the 2nd edition of the festival.

So every year, the festival that bears the name of this legendary couple relives this love, sometimes tumultuous, between this free woman with a strong character and this musical genius. Friday, August 23, actress Céline Dupas-Hutin will speak on the festival stage with the words of George Sand in the company of pianist Christine Fonlupt who will play Chopin and Liszt.

And to properly close this tenth edition, the festival will close its doors with a prestigious evening with Sophie Teulon who will perform the Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major by Mozart. The talented pianist has chosen to play on a 1920 Pleyel. In the second part of the evening, soprano Chrystelle Di Marco will bring back to life prestigious extracts from Verdi’s opera (Madame Butterfly) or even Puccini (La Traviata).

10th edition of the Sand & Chopin en Seyne festival – Fort Balaguier in La Seyne-sur-Mer – Until August 25, 2024.