August 11-12, 2001

Pianist Lydia Jardon's 4^th Summer Academy

It was a marvellous concert the students gave in the town hall/theatre on Friday. One can only admire the work Lydia Jardon has accomplished with her students during her week-long piano course, as well as the participants' receptiveness and talent considering that some are not professional musicians.

Philippe Watel, head of an Internet company in Milan, inaugurated a romantic musical program with compassion and brilliance, playing the first movement of the Opus 22 Sonata in G minor by Schumann, and Scrabine's Opus 8. He was followed by Agnès Barthélémy, a professor at the Avignon Conservatoire, who played the eight preludes by Chopin, her deeply sensitive rendition worthy of the greatest performers. Hildegarde Kouma, daughter of musician parents, travelled from Cameroon to participate, playing with wondrous musicality Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninov. The concert ended on a high note with the youngest and longest-standing student, Pauline

August 10, 2001

Summer Academy of Piano:
music and generosity

The Fourth Summer Academy of Piano course taking place on the island is drawing to a close.

Seventeen year old Pauline Créach is the youngest student, despite this being her fourth participation; Agnès Barthélémy, professor at the Avignon Conservatoire, Philippe Vatel and Hildegarde Kouma, who is from Douala, Cameroon, came to the island thanks to both the tenacity of Lydia Jardon, initiator of the event, and a grant provided by the association Pianos du Monde (Pianos of the world)...

If there is one word to be retained in describing their Friday, August 3, recital it would be “generosity".

The generous number of spectators who crowded into the town hall/theatre offered by the commune for the event, and for a good cause: Music. The generosity, too, of the students, most of whom are highly talented amateurs who chose to come to Ouessant to benefit from Lydia Jardon's inspirational piano lessons.

When one speaks of generosity, it naturally includes that of Lydia Jardon who succeeded, through her method of teaching, in drawing out of each one the very best they possess.

The island thus confirms its vocation as a meeting place for cultural encounters through music, literature or painting, in an ideal setting with ideal collaborators.

The island of women

The organization of the First Women Musicians Encounters taking place this year is again a generous idea, adopting the theme of “The island of women".

It's true that, on Ouessant, women have always played a major role. And to bring to the island, thanks to the association Pianos du Monde (Pianos of the World), women from Central Europe such as Irina Muresanu (violin), Dana Ciocarlie (piano), Irena Kudela (piano), or Sylvie Sullé (mezzo soprano), was a challenge in itself. Through their music, they expressed their very essence, not only inspired by Central Europe but also by the fragrances of Spain and other lands. A daring challenge, since classical musical concerts are generally scheduled for major cities and vast auditoriums.

This evening's concert

These First Women Musicians Encounters will reach their zenith this evening with a program ranging from Romanticism to Jazz, Lydia Jardon giving a recital of pieces by Chopin, Vuillemin and Gershwin.