KOLKATA: There’s a nip in the air and people are excited to enjoy the holiday season with close friends and family. And what better way to welcome winter than by listening to captivating music at Kolkata’s iconic Victoria Memorial Hall?
After the resounding success of the first series last year, the French Classical Music Concert series is back in the city with its new season.
On Monday, Victoria Memorial Hall and Alliance française du Bengale in collaboration with the Consulate General of France in Kolkata started the second edition of the series of French Classical Music Concerts. The series will continue until March 2024, each month presenting a diverse array of musicians from
France and India.
On Monday, the series started with the enchanting French Brass Splendor featuring the Franco-Indian trio with French trumpeters Jean-Baptiste Arnold and Nicolas Chatenet, alongside Indian pianist Nadine Jo Crasto.
On December 18, the Grand Vivaldi Concert: Venice 1725 will be conducted by French maestro Didier Talpain. As the New Year unfolds, the third concert, ‘French Music Concert for Two Pianos and Four-Hands,’ on January 22, 2024, will showcase the talents of Nadine Jo Crasto alongside renowned artist Justin McCarthy.
Keeping the crescendo building, the fourth concert, ‘The Music of Love on Screen,’ features violinist Isabelle Durin and brings back pianist Maxime Zecchini in a captivating performance in February 2024. The final concert will conclude on the occasion of International Women’s Day in March with the performance of a women trio.
“When I think about the first season of western classical music, two things come to my mind. The first is the fact that the large audiences who came to attend the different concerts seem to have been captivated by both music and performers. It probably means that music, despite the many “languages” it uses worldwide, is somehow universal. My second observation is that the courtyard of the Victoria Memorial Hall seems to have been built for hosting the kind of concerts we have decided to offer to the public of Kolkata,” said Didier Talpain, Consul General of France in Kolkata.
For Nicolas Facino, Director of Alliance Française du Bengale, the musical series is a celebration of talented artistes, and a testament to the harmonious intersection of France and Indian cultures.