Media
The festival
Alexandre Barrelet – 24 Heures
… Unclassifiable, original, curious, irreducible to other analogous events, the International Piano Week of Blonay is so on several points. And first of all because it makes little noise: if the church of La Chiésaz, in Saint-Légier, is full every evening, the media hype of this festival built around the pianist Edith Fischer is without common measure with the quality offered. And yet, the music that is given there is of the highest level, it invites immense performers, most of whom are not part of the traditional concert circuit in French-speaking Switzerland…
J. P. N. La Presse – Riviera Chablais
In the church of La Chiésaz, we experienced an artistic week of a high level…
Matthieu Chenal – 24 Heures
“The concert given on Tuesday perfectly illustrates the spirit of this convivial festival. Edith Fischer was clearly not trying to put her instrument in the limelight, her straightforward, clean playing was here calibrated for attentive accompaniment, support of the song, whether it be taken up by the generous cello of her brother, Edgar Fischer, the flowing violin of Herwig Zack, and above all by the full-bodied voice of Maria Teresa Uribe.”
Y. A. – Vevey Hebdo
“The performance of the Trout Quintet was bathed from start to finish in a ‘chamber’ atmosphere of the best kind.”
Marie-Laure de Bausacq – Vevey Hebdo
“For a long time, the great pianists were men, but times are changing. A tall, rather androgynous woman, Sarah Beth Briggs takes us into the depths of sound without excessive femininity. Her large hands approach Mozart with finesse that goes beyond feminine or masculine playing, the performer becomes music and makes us forget the often inappropriate ego. Her playing is of great expressive accuracy.”
Y. A. – Vevey Hebdo
“With Bach, Schumann, Bartok and Kodaly on the program, the evening of Sunday, August 17 offered an attractive mix of solo piano, duo with cello and piano accompaniment, for melodies inspired by Hungarian folklore performed by the Chilean mezzo soprano Maria Teresa Uribe. A very expert singer in Magyar music, through her studies at the Ferenc Liszt Academy and her engagements at the Budapest Opera. The execution of the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue BWV 903, by J. S. Bach, under the fingers of the Hungarian pianist Péter Nagy, struck by its frankness of articulation, without any abruptness, the logic of the speech emerging with an eloquent clarity, of a single casting, and without fuss. The Cantor’s music grew and amplified as if by itself, according to a natural and fluid progression.
Jean Cossetto – La Presse
… These pieces (Contrasts by Bela Bartok), of incredible difficulty, with a delicate intonation to master, with tormented rhythms, are played with panache and brilliance. The room is overflowing with applause….
J. P. N. – La Presse Riviera Chablais
… Sine Nomine and Jorge Pepi: the final enchantment. Eighth and final vigil yesterday with, to tie the sheaf, Balissat, Bloch and Brahms, 3 intense “B” each in its own way. Many music lovers did not want to miss the feast. … the final allegro sees a sovereign Jorge Pepi who leads the game in perfect harmony with the Sine Nomine quartet, still as brilliant …
Léo Bolliger – 24 Heures
Concerning the piece Serenade in A major by Brahms: “Holding the upper voice, Jorge Pepi-Alos works wonders: the naturalness and transparency of the playing, the breadth and roundness of the sound, the poetry of the phrasing, the refinement of the contrasts and the tempi. Edith Fischer shines with the accuracy and refinement of her accompaniment. The voices mingle, overlap, complement each other to become nothing more than a powerful breath. That of an orchestra, but only fitting, here, in an instrument.”
Jean Cossetto – Vevey-Hebdo
For the sixteenth consecutive year, the piano and chamber music have been the princes of Saint-Légier, under the leadership of Edith Fischer and Jorge Pepi-Alos, who have managed to create around this International Piano Week a climate of exceptional fervor.
Journal de Genève August 7, 1997
… A unique opportunity is thus offered to music lovers to rediscover, in concert and in the best conditions – the acoustics of La Chiésaz are excellent -, pages whose emotional intensity and eloquence without pathos are carried by a science of music. incomparable writing…
Anonymous – La Presse Riviera Chablais
… From one Friday to yesterday, what great moments lived in the intimacy provided by the proximity of music lovers and performers! Unfortunately, everything has an end and the last of the eight concerts saw the church taken over by more than three hundred and fifty people. The whole evening was marked by the sublime Edith Fischer, whose radiance is sovereign.
The musicians’ point of view
BITRAN Saul – violinist of the Latinoamericano quartet
“ I truly had an unforgettable experience at the International Piano Week. It is a festival in which deep love for music is taught in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere; all this in a spectacular natural setting.”
BENDA Denise – Artistic Director of the International Chamber Music Festival of Limassol/Cyprus. She participates in major international music festivals
“International Piano Week is like a precious stone recut each year by Edith and Jorge to transform it into a musical jewel. Whether student, teacher, artist or listener, everyone immediately recognizes its rare value and returns to it (or rediscovers it) with great joy. May this jewel sparkle every year anew.”
URIBE Maria Teresa – sings on all major international stages
“Beyond the joy of sharing these days with colleagues and students, it is the fact of feeling that music is a way of life where discipline, humility before the musical work and before the art, and the almost mysterious communication between artists and audience are the determining factors. These days thus represent a unique and important experience both for the students and for us, the guest artists.”
ZACK Herwig – Hochschule für Musik Duisburg
“Ever since I had the privilege to come to Blonay for the first time in 2002 to be part of the Semaine Internationale, I have enjoyed the special atmosphere of the Festival, that cosmopolitan spirit of friendship and inspiration palpable in the performances and throughout the classes What could be more beautiful than playing great music together with wonderful musicians at one of the world’s most spectacular locations?”
NAGY Peter – Professor at the Franz Liszt Academy, Budapest
“ I love the way how Edith and Jorge think of music and life. They have created a festival with real values with their philosophy. Blonay is one of the very few places of the world where i can find true love for music. This is because of their devotion and commitment to the festival and to the people. Long live at the International Piano Week! ”
COLOM Josep – COLOM Josep, pianist, professor at the University of Alcala, Madrid
“I have taken part in International Piano Week and the Blonay Interpretation Course on several occasions. The impeccable organization, the high level of performers and students, the imagination and constant renewal of the programming, the response of the public, the beautiful acoustics of the Church of La Chiésaz, here are some qualities of this artistic event. But, well beyond that, it is its spirit of internal conviviality and the great natural beauty of its setting which makes that this Festival and the master classes have become really special for me; no doubt this facilitates beautiful encounters and the development of friendships. It is thanks to this set of particularities that the music emerges with more enthusiasm and truth. ”
GROSGURIN Daniel – cellist, professor High School of Music of Basel and Geneva
BOLDORINI Raquel – pianist
GRAF Peter-Lukas – flautist and conductor, Doctor honoris causa, professor at the Academy of Music in Basel
QUEFFÉLEC Anne – Great contemporary pianist
“I had the pleasure on August 27th, invited by Mrs. Edith Fischer, to give a recital within the framework of International Piano Week. I have fond memories of the church of La Chiésaz which, thanks to the quality of its acoustics and the intimacy of sharing with the public, lends itself superbly to chamber music concerts and recitals. Moreover, the educational vocation of this Week is essential. Young musicians can only derive an extremely stimulating and enriching benefit from their stay. And the beauty of the natural setting, in this region of Vevey, adds to the artistic benefit. It is vital in today’s world to support such undertakings. It is a question, in my eyes of public health, and a duty of transmission towards the younger generations.
TAILLARD Pierre-André – Teacher at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and at the Neuchâtel Music Conservatory
“ Blonay is like a breath of fresh air during the year, a privileged moment where musicians can focus solely on the music, experience it with friends and serve it to a receptive audience as it should always be served. : fresh, without preservative additives, unpasteurized, in short, lively music. Of course, this dream could not be resurrected each year without a network of people all pulling together: organizers, municipal authorities, sponsors, volunteers, staff of the Hindemith Foundation, inhabitants of the region. May they be thanked! ”
SCHINDLER Noëmi and ROY Christophe – Teachers in National Schools of Music in France
“ The international weeks of Blonay are always an incomparable pleasure. The musicians with whom we share music stay for several days in the Hindemith Foundation, a historic and unique place. We then take the time to rehearse a work until a result that is of a high level. One of the most beautiful ideas of meetings is undoubtedly contained in the operation: each musician, invited to play a work, prepares it until the first meeting. We experienced this moment as an exchange of gifts, each one offering their culture and their sensitivity, their experience and their humanity over the days. At the time of the concerts, each spectator can only be prized by the deep friendship which unites the musicians. Then music can be born and received in the most beautiful way. ”
BRIGGS Sarah – Professor at the University of York
JURI José Luis – Professor at the Conservatory of Buenos Aires
BADURA-SKODA Paul – pianist Great contemporary pianist, musicologist and teacher
The pianists
CHEN LIN Tony
Christchurch Mail – Patrick Shepherd
PEPI-ALOS Jorge
… The atmosphere installed, we were far from imagining what was to follow. In the “Nachtstücke” Op. 23 by Schumann, the pianist Jorge Pepi literally suspended the embrace of time. Incredibly constructed, the pianist’s interpretation marvelously juxtaposes poetry and formal rigor, thus denoting a deep understanding of the work. For little, we would almost stop breathing for fear of disturbing the poetry emerging from the piano…
L’Express – 2010
Fischer Edith
… As exhibited, the Diabelli variations will be remembered forever. We saw an interpreter concentrated to the extreme, grasping this monument of the repertoire with an authority, a vitality and a sense of construction which made its unfolding fascinating from start to finish. Everything was in place in the most natural way, everything seemed to be said with a constant concern for general consistency. …
L’impartial – La Chaux-de-Fonds
PANTILLON Marc
“Talented interpreter, Marc Pantillon reveals to us here the quality of his paintings in halftones, sober and intimate. The pianist never forces the line and invents, thanks to a masterful game, an enchanting climate between dream and reality, both suave and elegiac, powerful and passionate. ”
UT-MI-SOL – Toulouse
Peter Nagy
“… In Mozart’s work, the soloist Péter Nagy was able to render the fine elegance of the fast movements with the same conviction as the poignant melancholy of the slow movement. His interpretation of Schubert was just as eloquent….”
The New York Times
RUBACKYTE Muza
“…As a great pianist, Muza Rubackyté invests this strange and beautiful universe with absolute naturalness, a deep conviction as an interpreter, the fullness of a rich and ample sound that finally does justice to a repertoire that has been neglected for too long….”
Classictoulouse – Serge Chauzy