Magic Nights in Montpellier

We have just spent three nights in Montpellier, for part of the ten day long Radio France Music Festival. This is a yearly occasion in which artists old and new come together to perform. All concerts are recorded for broadcasting, and some are broadcast live. We booked tickets for three subsequent evening concerts : a jazz quartet with pianist Brad Mehldau; Mahler's 4th Symphony played by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France ; and the celebrated Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin. We planned to stay there overnight, while enjoying performances from younger up and coming performers during the day, of which more in my next blog. The evenings were hot and summery, and filled with magic.

At Chateau d'O you can picnic under the pine trees before the concert begins (Above).

Night One: Great Jazz at the Amphitheatre du Domaine D'O

The amphitheatre was packed for what turned out to be a wonderful evening of classic jazz. All four musicians are famous in their own right, and this coming together was a very special occasion which we were very privileged to enjoy. An added bonus...we can hear it all over again when the concert is broadcast on 'France Musique.'

Night two: A double bill of Mahler at The Corum , and the stroll back.

Tonight's concert began with Mahler's Kindentotenlieder, a series of songs lamenting the death of young children. After the interval we enjoyed Mahler's Fourth Symphony. It was a memorable concert, but the stroll back to our hotel was significant also. We joined the crowds who were streaming out of the concert hall, walking down the wide boulevard to the Place de la Comédie. Much of this area had been fenced off for renovations , so the sight that greeted us was quite a surprise. Gone were the magnificent round basins and large playing fountains of the past, and in their place were parallel rows of smaller jets which glowed a deep azure blue in the darkness, reflecting in the overhanging trees. It was stunning. Add to that, the excitement of two small children playing in the jets of water, and our happiness was complete. A small group of people had gathered around a pair of traditional Occitan musicians, and had begun to dance. Everything felt relaxed, and everyone seemed happy. It was just a perfect summer's evening in the city.

Night three: Evgeny Kissin, Russian concert pianist.

This concert was a nostalgic one for us, as we first saw him perform here in the very same festival in 2007.Tonight's performance was equally impressive and moving. As we had done the previous evening, we decided to stroll down the boulevard past the blue fountains to the Place de la Comédie, from where we would take the tram to our hotel.

Once there, the evening felt so pleasant we decided to complete the journey on foot. Our route took us through the enormous shopping arcade of The Polygone. As we exited this complex at the other end ,we were faced with the magnificent entrance portal to The Antigone, a neo classical commercial and residential development, which had been designed by the architect Ricardo Bofill , under the auspices of the ambitious maire Georges Frêche, and completed in the eighties. It is here that we were staying, and we were already familiar with its enormous fluted columns, graeco roman features, and abundant curves. But to see it at night, when the beige coloured imitation stone was all lit up, was a wonderful new experience.

Columns, curves and porticos.

Whatever you may think of this neo classical style, to see it at night , as we did for the first time, leaves a lasting impression.

Montpellier by night was truly magic. But there were many things to discover and enjoy in the daylight too. More of our discoveries and day time concerts in my next blog...coming very soon.