Saturday morning, in the Salle des Arlucs, none of the parents present were caught in the act of napping. “However, it is also for them and for that that we imagined these shows”, jokes Benjamin Levy. The musical director of the National Orchestra of Cannes has just left the stage and greeted his unusual audience of the day, after the second of the “baby concerts” scheduled for the first time this season. Thirty minutes of classics, chosen especially for babies.
“What we offer them is a first contact with real acoustic music. We are not the first. In the United States, violinist Hillary Hahn has played a lot in front of toddlers. It’s a very, very good thing for a generation that will undoubtedly be a little more disconnected from these vibrations, from live instruments, says the conductor. It is also a moment that dads and moms, rather stuck at home in the first years, can share with their children outside. Even if it means taking advantage of it to get some sleep, to make up for the bad nights. »
“It’s something else in terms of the atmosphere”
Django didn’t shy away for a second. This little piece of not even a year old “remained subjugated”. “Usually, he moves a lot. But there, he remained very calm at least for the first two or three songs, ”explains Laura, the mother of this little resident of Mouans-Sartoux, very close to Cannes. Manael, 10 months this week, too, remained captivated. It must be said that he already hears classical music at home. “His dad is in the orchestra, the clarinettist François Draux, explains Emilie, his mother. But he had never participated in concerts and I think he liked it a lot. He didn’t try to do anything else. »
Not all have remained so wise. On the floor of this room in the west of Cannes, usually very solemn, we saw young spectators dancing with their parents, crawling and even rolling on the floor while the musicians unfolded their program: Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Anderson or even Strauss.
” And that’s good. All of that is life. The interaction is very different. It’s clearly something else in terms of the atmosphere, smiles Florent Bontron, solo flute of the orchestra. But the ceremonial in classical music is recent. In the 18th and 19th centuries, people applauded, reacted. We come back to it a bit thanks to these particular concerts. »
“It’s a great introduction”
“We hear chirping, crying sometimes, continues Benjamin Lévy. It is very interesting as an exercise. And then, the exchange is perhaps a little more spontaneous”. Between the pieces, the musical director also works to talk about the instruments, to give some information on the music that is played.
“It’s a great initiation”, testifies Sandrine, the grandmother of Elisa, 20 months, who came to attend the concert from Fayence, and the neighboring department of Var. Two other “baby concerts”, free for children under 10 and offered at 8 euros full price, are still planned this season: March 18 (already full), and June 3. It’s a real success. “We are already thinking about doubling the sessions, further specifies Benjamin Levy. Because, each time, we had to refuse people. »