“The idea is for music to be present everywhere” in the city, repeats René Martin, the irremovable founder and boss of The crazy day. The famous classical music festival opens its 29th edition this Wednesday at the Cité des Congrès and the Lieu Unique in Nantes. And, for the third year, a partnership was concluded with the Nantes public transport company (TAN). Under the gaze of intrigued travellers, the saxophonist quartet Ellipsos and the pianist duo Hervé Billaut and Guillaume Coppola played excerpts from their repertoire, trying to maintain their balance despite the movements of the tram.
“Music is movement and we are keen to get it out of theaters,” said Paul-Fathi Lacombe, soprano saxophonist of the Ellipsos quartet, who played on line 3 of the tram. On line 1, an upright piano has been firmly secured with straps to allow the musicians to play in complete serenity, without preventing a few jolts when the tram brakes or accelerates.
“Perhaps a person, a child or a retiree will have a musical shock compared to this classical repertoire that he or she does not know”, commented the pianist Hervé Billaut who played four hands, with Guillaume Coppola, works by composers Manuel de Falla and Moritz Moszkowski, as well as the Spanish Rhapsody by Maurice Ravel.
“Awesome piano in the tram!” »
Lola, a 19-year-old medical student, didn’t miss a beat of the show, which she filmed with her cell phone. “It’s impressive to have a piano on the tram,” she said. “On the other hand, I have no idea who is playing! “, she added. I think it’s great for democratizing classical music, which is always a bit in the same places with the same audience,” said Anaïs, a 32-year-old theater student, pleasantly surprised by this initiative. For Nadine, a 64-year-old retiree and music lover, “it’s a wonderful idea to introduce classical music to many people who don’t have the opportunity to listen to it”.
La Folle Journée de Nantes runs until February 5th. The theme chosen this year is “the night”. Nearly 300 concerts are scheduled and some 2,000 guest artists. The festival aims to sell nearly 140,000 tickets.