‘In an extremely standardised world, which pushes us to be sensible and consensual, it seems that there is an increasing need to rethink utopia, ideals and also the excesses of artists,’ says Bruno Mantovani, head of the Monte-Carlo Spring Arts Festival.
The event will therefore be given a new lease of life in 2026.
"Modern instruments such as the clarinet and the piano, in their current forms, are part of our everyday lives. It seems natural to us to see them on stage, but each of them has its own history and its own evolution. The question of their birth, but also their transformation over time, is fascinating, as is the relationship between composition and instrument making, because composers are no strangers to the evolution of organology," continues the artistic director.
Pushing boundaries, reinventing sounds
Musicians have always sought to break with convention, including those related to instruments. ‘Unlike entertainment, which is a unifying concept, art is essentially something uncomfortable that aims to elevate and provoke us,’ says Bruno Mantovani.
A captivating figure on the contemporary classical scene, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger is giving four concerts on the theme of pushing instruments beyond their limits, including two with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, while Claudine Simon explores the notion of decomposition on the piano by infusing it with new colours.
From Johann Sebastian Bach to the accordion
This 42nd edition showcases instruments whose strings are not made of metal but gut, as well as more recent instruments such as the ondes Martenot with their modulated vibrations*. While the saxophone is best known for its use in jazz, virtuoso Vincent David offers an avant-garde repertoire. Transcription and adaptation will be explored extensively, from Paganini's Caprices for violin in piano versions arranged by Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt, to works by Johann Sebastian Bach played on the accordion, an instrument associated with popular dance in the collective unconscious.
The festival will showcase singing through two chamber operas, a battle between a tenor and a countertenor in Vivaldi's repertoire, and a collective improvisation show where electronic sounds blend seamlessly with the voice. The artistic director explains: ‘We have also invited composers to come and create small-scale pieces, similar to the Miniature I imagined in 2004 for the Ballets de Monte-Carlo, as the festival itself is a vehicle for creation.’
* The ondes Martenot is an electronic musical instrument invented by Maurice Martenot in 1928.
