Festival Marvão – a Recension
Translation of Recension by Nicola Catto
Someone once said that the perfect recipe for the success of a festival (musical, but not only) involves two essential ingredients: it must take place in a location that is sufficiently isolated yet also of great beauty, whether natural or architectural. I must say that the Marvão Festival more than satisfies both conditions: the town is located in the east of Portugal, just a few kilometers from the Spanish border, in the district of Portalegre, about two and a half hours by car from Lisbon, perched over 800 meters high on a small mountain: few inhabitants in the summer, and very few (99, I was told) in the winter.
But in Marvão there is one indispensable condition for music, which in 2014 convinced the renowned German violinist and conductor Christoph Poppen, together with his wife, the even more famous soprano Juliane Banse, to create from scratch an annual music event: it began, as often happens, with a weekend of just a few concerts involving some friends, gradually growing into the much more ambitious program of this eleventh edition, entirely dedicated to chamber music (though last year they even ventured into opera, with a full performance of Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio).
Marvão is dominated by an Arab-era castle, which hosts the most important concerts in its courtyard (the evening ones) and boasts a marvelous cistern, originally used for rainwater storage (allowing castle inhabitants a six-month autonomy during sieges) and today hosting late-night concerts with incredibly generous and harmonious acoustics. I listened to Haydn’s The Seven Last Words, in the string quartet version, and it was one of those rare cases where everything felt “right,” from the quality of the four musicians (Poppen himself with Muriel Cantoreggi, Adrien La Marca, and Bruno Philippe) to the atmosphere created between them and the large audience.
The festival creates real communities: that of the spectators, coming from all over Europe (you really have to choose to come to Marvão—it’s not a place you happen upon by chance!) and, loyal over the years, providing significant financial support through a network of donors; and that of the artists, who perform for symbolic fees and, staying for many days (the festival ran from July 18 to 27), allow programs including pieces rarely heard, often for practical reasons. For example, the selection from Brahms’ Liebeslieder-Walzer, with its ensemble of two pianists and four singers, or the presence in residence of the excellent Arod Quartet, performing daily.
Notable names were present: the duo formed by Sunwook Kim (well-known pianist, winner of the 2006 Leeds Competition) and his wife Clara-Jumi Kang covered works from Franck’s Sonata to the Quintet, from Chausson’s Poème to his Concerto for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet, always ensuring technical brilliance and—especially for her—a generous and intense approach.
This year’s edition (15,000 tickets sold, 100 artists from 20 countries, 35 concerts) was characterized by almost all concerts being monographic: for instance, a rare “all Chausson” program (Poème, the Seven Mélodies Op. 2, La Chanson perpétuelle, and the aforementioned Concerto) followed by “all Franck” and “all Beethoven,” with festival-worthy pieces such as the Septet and the Piano and Winds Quintet Op. 16.
Not only the castle, however: the Church of the Convent of Nossa Senhora da Estrela, large but acoustically diffuse, and the more intimate Church of São Tiago were other concert venues. In the latter, I heard an unusually abundant (perhaps even excessive) “all Prokofiev” program: the Overture on Hebrew Themes, the Flute Sonata (with excellent soloist Sónia Pais), some Songs on Russian texts with the fine Belarusian baritone Nikolay Borchev, and the First Violin Sonata. On the same day, at the same place, late in the evening, we concluded with the moving Quatuor pour la fin du temps by Messiaen, whose prophetic yet luminous notes seemed to perfectly match the location and our turbulent times (and Horácio Ferreira on clarinet was outstanding!).
As is typical in festivals of this type, concerts are numerous, interactions between artists rather occasional, and rehearsal time limited; results could therefore be surprisingly good or, in other cases, less convincing, with caution prevailing. For example, it was not a good idea to program Brahms’ Quintet in the Joachim version, which replaces the clarinet with a viola—a version requiring a balance calculation impossible to achieve in a short outdoor rehearsal. But generally, the quality of the individual musicians and their enthusiasm ensured a truly excellent artistic result.
I cannot forget the concerts for children (with the wonderful violinist Kevin Zhu, Paganini winner and brilliant entertainer) and for the elderly: a sign of social sensitivity beyond the purely artistic. As I have written many times, there are many—indeed, too many—summer festivals (especially in Italy): what really makes the difference are ideas, quality, and the ability to create an inclusive project with a long-term vision, not just artistic. This is why Marvão can still grow—a hope I sincerely share.
by Nicola Catto
CHRISTOPH POPPEN
CONDUCTOR