To sum up the Festival d’Auvers-sur-Oise is to leaf through 44 years of international musical life. From Rostropovich and Richter to Cziffra, from Crespin to Bartoli, by way of Barbara Hendricks, the list of stars who have graced the event is enough to make your head spin. But more than a roll-call of illustrious names, the history of the Festival d’Auvers-sur-Oise is best read in the light of its spirit, unchanged since 1981. That spirit comes down to two words: youth and innovation.

Youth, because ever since it was founded by Pascal Escande, the Festival has revealed – or confirmed – many talents who now count among the safest bets in classical music. The pianist Hélène Grimaud gave one of her first major recitals here. That was in 1989. The future star was not yet twenty and had not yet met the wolf that would change her life by drawing the attention of the media. But her hypersensitivity already set the stage alight. Ten years later, another gifted pianist made his debut in the Impressionist town: Denis Matsuev. The Russian pianist, an ambassador for Rachmaninov and endorsed by the composer’s family, has since written his name in golden letters into the history of the Festival, whose DiscAuverS recording collection he inaugurated.

Innovation, because this multicultural meeting can claim to have often been ahead of its time in its trends and in its relationship with the audience. For instance, by establishing a dialogue between the visual arts and music as early as 1987 — a concept widely taken up since. Or by setting up, from 2000 onwards, annual composers’ residencies leading to one or more premieres written by a new generation of composers such as Escaich, Bacri, Hersant, Connesson, Beffa, Dusapin, Campo, Mantovani, Waksman and many others… The residency of the much-missed Henri Dutilleux for the Festival’s Opus 30, only three years before his death, is remembered with emotion.

With each Opus, the Festival d’Auvers-sur-Oise goes on surprising us, launching still-unknown talents into orbit and staging musical events that push at the boundaries of the classical concert. And it is impossible to separate the Festival d’Auvers-sur-Oise from the figure of Vincent van Gogh. In the town whose light he captured so marvellously, his shadow hangs over every corner. Yet there is something of Rimbaud about the event too. A yearning for the cult of eternal youth. A leaning towards the intoxication of the senses by way of a taste for poetic sciences. A breath of revolt, more counterpoint than counterweight, which stirs the soul before it rouses the crowd.

The DiscAuverS mission, the discovery mission of the Festival d’Auvers-sur-Oise

Since 1990, the Festival d’Auvers-sur-Oise has pursued its mission as a residency for young artists, supporting the development of their concert and recording careers. From the Trio Wanderer to Claire-Marie Le Guay, by way of Henri Demarquette, Delphine Haidan, Emmanuelle Haïm, Denis Matsuev, Les Folies Françoises and Patricia Petibon, Hisako Kawamura, Hyo Joo Lee, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, Tristan Pfaff, La Maîtrise de Paris, Sanja Bizjak, Miroslav Kultishev, Luka Okros, Anastasia Kobekina, Illia Ovcharenko and the Duo Argos. A great many young musicians have been able not only to record their first CD, but also to be guided and supported in the spirit of a residency. “DiscAuverS” confirms its identity as a discoverer of talent on the European music scene. Since then, a number of the Festival’s young artists have become major performers with outstanding careers around the world.

Young talents discovered by DiscAuverS

The first record of their career

• Trio Wanderer
• Claire-Marie Le Guay (Victoire de la Musique 1998)
• Denis Matsuev
• Delphine Haidan
• Patricia Petibon
• Henri Demarquette
• Hisako Kawamura
• Jean-Frédéric Neuburger
• Tristan Pfaff
• Lilit Grigoryan
• Hyo Joo Lee
• La Maîtrise de Paris
• Sanja Bizjak
• Jean-Charles Gandrille
• Boris Andrianov
• Dimitri Illarionov
• Miroslav Kultishev
• Anna Fedorova
• Luka Okros
• Anastasia Kobekina
• Théo Ould
• François Pineau-Benois
• Lisa Strauss
• Illia Ovcharenko
• Argos
• Zarathoustra