Nantes, the Capital City of the Classical Music!
The famous Five-Day-International-Festival of Classical Music of Nantes “La Folle Journée 2014” celebrates its 20th edition!!
The Crazy Day! This is literally the translation of the French name “La Folle Journée”, the five-day-international-festival of classical music of Nantes that will take place on the 29th of January to the 2nd of February.What a crazy day it will be! I mean…five crazy days actually!! (Yes I come from Nantes).
Indeed, this is not any International festival of classical music, it is the most famous one worldwide that celebrates its 20th edition! As every year, the festival takes place on the Island of Nantes at the Cité des Congrès (Nantes Event Center) and welcomes thousands of music lovers throughout the world. Over the last 20 years, the French festival has welcomed every year worldwide famous artists such as singers, orchestras, maestros, musicians and many others… Among them, we can highlight Barbara Hendricks, Michel Corboz, the musical academy of Berlin, the baroque orchestra of Amsterdam, Joël Suhubiette and Nicholas Angelich. For each edition the festival has been performing classical music about a specific theme as for example in 2003 “The Italian Baroque” which illustrated the music from the time of Monteverdi to Vivaldi, or in 2007 “The Harmony of the People in the World” which was all the classical music from the years 1860s to the years 1950s.
For the anniversary, the festival pays a tribute to the American culture naming the 20th edition “From the Canyons to the Stars”! American music from the 20th century such as blues, jazz or even films’ soundtracks like those of John Williams in Star Wars will be re-interpreted by famous artists and orchestras such as George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein or the philharmonic orchestra of the Oural.
Elected ‘the most liveable city in Europe’ and held the title of European Green Capital in 2013, Nantes is also a place of culture and history.
Between two concerts, people will appreciate discovering many historical monuments such as the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany, the Gallery of the “Passage Pommeraye” with its various traditional shops, and have a nice lunch at the famous restaurant La Cigale of the Place Graslin enjoying traditional dishes with a nice glass of Muscadet!
For those who wish a night out after a full day of concerts,the best program to follow is the following: enjoy a Breton Crepe with a bolée de cidre (bowl of cider) in a traditional creperie in the old paved-road quarter Bouffay and then go up to the last level of the Tower of Brittany to discover Nantes and all its agglomeration“By Night” at more than 144 meters (473 feet) in the bar called Le Nid (The Nest); for the most motivated, the end of the program would be to discover the “Hangar of Bananas”, a series of traditional pubs and clubs situated all along the Loire river highlighted with its magical illuminations!
The historical Capital City of Brittany and its region is definitely a place that must be seen; indeed the Folle Journée festival is a good opportunity to discover and visit the City of Jules Verne. The latter is even proudly highlighted on the Island of Nantes as outstanding exhibitions of Jules Verne’s universe’s machineries have been recreated and been on show for many years and attract many people throughout the world.
To put it in a nutshell, if you come to Nantes for concertsat the International festival of classical music, you will not only enjoy the music but you will be bewitched by this city and have for sure… Une Folle Journée!