Top original classical music festivals

in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur

No doubt about it, classical music can also have a crazy side, especially in the South of France where original sounds, creations and works go well together and find their way into the countryside and villages. Open your ears and get your legs tuned, a selection of festivals scouting for talent and a multiplying effect on the senses awaits you!

Les Rencontres Musicales de Haute-Provence in Forcalquier

Every summer in July, the Rencontres Musicales de Haute-Provence Festival offers a varied, eclectic programme showcasing internationally famous artists and promising young talents. Get in tune with in historic and picturesque venues to discover them: cathedral, cloister, convent, priory. The chamber music concerts range from baroque to contemporary. The musical walks of the festival are an opportunity to connect with nature and make the most of the magic in the open air in an intimate, immersive experience along the hiking trails.

Musicales des Villages et Domaines Provençaux at Festival Gloriana

In July and August, get ready to set off on a historic trip through the Provencal estates and villages with the Festival Gloriana. You’re sure to be moved by the striking combination of Provencal architecture and famed artists. The artists set out to conquer chapels, parks and churches in the villages for almost a month in small musical ensembles and turn them into unique musical experience venues, an enchanted journey in the Var.

The Festival de Chaillol in the Hautes-Alpes

Summer rhymes with discoveries of all types in the Vallée du Champsaur. In July and August, there are piano concerts, chamber music, recitals, original forms of music and the Festival de Chaillol. An opportunity to combine the pleasures of music with those of a typical French Southern Alps lifestyle. From classical music to jazz and world music, the event offers a world of possibilities where sounds are concerned. And to air your mind, the musical hikes are the ideal recipe. So, put on your walking shoes and discover unusual places in the Alpine pastures, mountain lakes and forest clearings.

Bonus: Festival Durance Luberon

Between the Durance and the Luberon, this festival celebrates chamber music, small orchestras and pocket operas and lyrical performances, sending shivers down the spines of music lovers. You’ll be bewitched by these high-level performances in a variety of musical genres with men and women opera singers, apérojazz, apéroconcert, apéropéra dinner concert and stories told by the artists themselves. These intimate performances give rise to powerful, passionate emotions. You’ll forget everything around you in a tête-à-tête with the music scene.

Festival Opus Opéra in Gattières

At the end of July, the Festival Opus Opéra takes over the village of Gattières. In the evenings, head for Place Grimaldi to attend the open-air pocket version of a classical opera. Experienced artists and young talents to discover. Opus Opéra performs operatic concerts and apéropéras in the neighbouring villages to share a love of lyrical art.

Festival Musiques en Écrins

Don’t miss this summer event in the Vallée de la Haute-Romanche which represents thirty years of musical passion in the Pays des Écrins. Right in the middle of the Hautes-Alpes, music lives in harmony with nature and picturesque venues such as chapels, churches, mountain peaks, lakes and mountain huts ring out with music. Eminent classical musicians, soloists, chamber ensembles and orchestras will have your hearts beating in unison in an enchanted setting.

Festival de Musique des Chapelles

Every year in early spring, the Var area welcomes the Festival de Musique des Chapelles, a festival created by talented cello player Éric Courrèges, also founder of the Festival Gloriana. Offering an enchanting blend of heritage and classical music, this springtime event invites audiences to discover some of the Var’s stunning historic chapels. On the programme: around fifteen intimate concerts staged in Saint-Tropez, Callas, Figanières, Lorgues and other Var villages. With their Romanesque vaulted ceilings, Baroque altarpieces and old stones, the time-honoured concert venues boast remarkable acoustics, transforming every evening into an immersive experience steeped in the sheer mastery of artists renowned on both the national and international classical music scenes.

Festival de Musique Ancienne de la Roya

Held in Saorge, in the gorgeous Vallée de la Roya, the Festival de Musique Ancienne de la Roya is a truly singular cultural event founded in 2018, promising an enticing blend of never-before-seen repertoires, artistic innovation and commitment to preserving local heritage. The annual festival features around ten concerts staged at the old monastery, on the village squares and in local churches rarely open to the public, with an audacious line-up including narrated musical walks in the mountains, a nighttime stroll through the dark lanes of Saorge, as well as various artistic performances in public spaces. One of the festival highlights, the musical walk invites participants to follow musicians and their ancient musical instruments (lute, viola da gamba, flute, fiddle) along the valley trails and winds up with a get-together around delicious local specialities.

Festival Musique au Cœur des Baronnies

Tucked away in the heart of the Hautes-Alpes, the Festival Musique au Cœur des Baronnies delights audiences every summer with an immersive artistic and cultural experience combining classical music and majestic alpine scenery, with deeply moving concerts and recitals by heralded international artists and virtuoso pianists. What’s more, the festival is far more than a simple musical event: a craft market, guided tours and cultural exhibitions go to complete this exciting line-up, celebrating art in every shape and form. An invitation to bathe in mesmerizing melodies and breathtaking vistas in the beautiful Baronnies Provençales area.

La Route Royale des Orgues

Created in 2002, the international festival La Route Royale des Orgues is an ode to the exceptional heritage nestled between Nice and Turin, along the ancient ways connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Alps. Held every year, the festival features around 30 free events staged in 14 Franco-Italian town and villages, honouring the ancient organs (now listed monuments) forged in the 18th and 19th centuries by Italian master builders. The Baroque, Romantic and themed concerts are interspersed with “L’Orgue fait son cinéma” film screenings to the sound of live organ music by renowned improvisers. Entirely free of charge, this wonderful festival strives to make artistic excellence accessible to all.

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