Schumann And Mendelssohn At La Chaise-Dieu

This past week, I did something that I had wanted to do since I was a teenager, living in France.
In 1974, my mother took me and my sister to a piano concert at La Chaise-Dieu, a small town not far from our house. La Chaise-Dieu is known known for its Benedictine abbey, which was founded in 1043.  The concert was part of the La Chaise-Dieu Music Festival, which was created in 1966 by Hungarian-born pianist Georges Cziffra .

I was too young to fully appreciate the event, but I always remembered the truly amazing setting of the Abbey Church filled with classical music.

The Festival, now in its 48th year, has grown and expanded tremendously.  To my great joy,  I realized that our dates here in France this summer overlapped with the festival, so I immediately bought tickets.  

Last Thursday evening, my husband and I sat in the part of the church once reserved for the monks and were treated to a program of Mendelssohn and Schumann music by the St. Étienne Orchestra.
Pianist Adam Laloum performed Schumann's "Concerto Pour Piano en La Mineur".
The setting, the music, it was all achingly beautiful.  Just like that evening so many years ago with my mother, it was unforgettable.