Festival Ravel and the Ravel Academy
A major musical event in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
A major musical event in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
Inspired by Ravel and his world, anchored in Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Ciboure, and culturally noursishing the Basque Country through its artistic activities, Festival Ravel presents today's great artists and, through its Academy, trains tomorrow's generation of performers and composers.
Festival Ravel was founded in 2020 from the merger of Musique en Côte Basque and the Ravel Academy, two major players in the cultural seasons of Saint-Jean-de-Luz and the surrounding region. The Musique en Côte Basque association, originally known as La Grande Semaine de Saint-Jean-de-Luz, was founded in 1960 by Pierre Larramendy, mayor of Saint-Jean-de-Luz. After a first edition celebrating the 300-year anniversary of Louis XIV’s marriage to the Infanta Maria Theresa of Austria, La Grande Semaine became an annual event. Over the years, some of the greatest names in classical music have attended, including Arthur Rubinstein, Martha Argerich, and Aldo Ciccolini. In 1967, Pierre Larramendy founded the Ravel Academy, bringing together renowned teachers and promising young talent (Bertrand Chamayou, current artistic director of Festival Ravel, was a student in 1998, 1999 and 2000!).
The two organizations complement each other, one dedicated to teaching French music at the highest level, the other presenting internationally renowned artists in concert events. The year 2007, known as “Ravel Year”, celebrated the 70th anniversary of Ravel’s death, and marked the first stage in their collaboration. The Saint-Jean-de-Luz town council decided to continue to honour the composer throughout the year with conferences, exhibitions and concerts.
It wasn’t until 2017 that a truly joint organization was born, the beginnings of today’s festival. Musique en Côte Basque and the Ravel Academy joined forces to co-produce the first Festival Ravel with the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. The aim of this innovative event was “to establish a lasting artistic offering that fosters transmission and connects different generations of musicians, closely associating musical education with prestigious concerts”, explains Alain Rousset, President of the Conseil Régional de Nouvelle-Aquitaine. This collaboration confirmed the complementary nature of the two organisations and their shared identity: that of the memory of Ravel.
The year 2020 marks a turning point in the Festival’s history. After three years of co-production, Musique en Côte Basque and the Ravel Academy merged to create a single entity: Festival Ravel. The two historically linked sister organizations came together under the presidency of Jean-François Heisser, an emblematic figure in the Ravel Academy, of which he was president and artistic director for over twenty years.
Jean-François Heisser and Bertrand Chamayou, once master and pupil, joined forces and took on the artistic direction. Synergistically combining their ideas and ambitions, their strong relationship and high regard for one another have served to propel Festival Ravel to the highest levels of artistic excellence. In the autumn of 2023, after three fruitful years of collaboration, Bertrand Chamayou assumed sole artistic direction of the project.
The first edition of the new Festival Ravel was not held, however, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, an event concert was organized at the Saint-Jean-de-Luz church on September 15, marking the start of a new adventure. At the piano, Jean-François Heisser and Bertrand Chamayou performed the Rapsodie Espagnole, Katia and Marielle Labèque played Ma mère l’Oye, the Ensemble Hegiak interpreted traditional Basque songs. For a grand finale, all came together for a Boléro that has gone down in history.
Building on this rich history, the new Festival Ravel takes flight, grounded in the core values of sharing, transmission and modernity. It follows in the footsteps of Maurice Ravel, a native of Ciboure with Basque culture and territory serving as a vital source of inspiration for the Festival, just as they were for the famous composer.
From its launch in 2021, Festival Ravel is set to gain recognition as a major international cultural project dedicated to Maurice Ravel. Taking up the traditional late summer period, spanning August to September, it also offers events throughout the year for local commuities, including lectures, broadcast concerts and educational projects.
With more than 50 years of experience, the Ravel Academy continues to gather promising young musicians and composers from around the world in Saint-Jean-de-Luz every summer to learn from a college of prestigious teaching artists. With the support of the Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the Ravel Academy strengthens its mission as an incubator for the great artists of tomorrow and helps its most promising young musicians gain invaluable performance experience and exposure in concerts throughout the year in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.
Based in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Festival Ravel produces, shares, transmits, and promotes musical and cultural programs with the aim of:
– Perpetuating and honoring the memory of Maurice Ravel in Ciboure and Saint-Jean-de-Luz, where he was born and spent most of his summers, and where he composed part of his work.
– Promoting the composer’s work while also highlighting French music and all other genres that interested him in an open and inclusive way.
– Promoting classical music and other forms of artistic expression in keeping with the Ravelian spirit, such as jazz, traditional music, contemporary music, and contemporary art.
– Highlighting living composers through residencies and commissions.
– Working with the Festival to raise international recognition for the Academy, establishing educational activities accross the region outside the August-September period; and expanding the reach of “labelled products” in Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.
– Proposing cross-disciplinary projects which foster highlight local culture and Basque identity in all its forms.
Bertrand Chamayou, President and Artistic Director of the Festival Ravel and the Ravel Academy ©Marco Borggreve