Seven concerts and a conference make up the programme of Passione violoncello (September 21 to October 24), the story of the instrument’s musical evolution from three points of view: cello duet, cello ensemble, and cello solo with piano accompaniment. The Romantic century is a key moment in cello history, with the greatest composers of the time emancipating it from its role of accompanying instrument.

Passione violoncello will be presented on September 12, starting with a cello and piano concert. Enrico Graziani and Francesco Granata will play music by Bonis, Boulanger, Farrenc, Grandval. Cello quintets are the main feature of the September 21 concert at Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista, starring Quatuor Cambini-Paris and Marion Martineau. While Schubert’s piece is widely known, we often forget that the French cello repertoire is vast and underacknowledged. It includes, for examples, cello quintets by Charles-Nicolas Baudiot and Théodore Gouvy. Further cello quintets by Onslow and Gouvy will be played on September 25 by Quatuor Dutilleux and Victor Julien-Laferrière. The September 22 concert will be all about ensembles. The source material comes from an expanded timeframe over the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, with such composers as Marie-Joseph Erb, Hélène-Frédérique de Faye-Jozin, whose musice will be performed by teachers (Anne Gastinel, Xavier Phillips) and their pupils (Lila Beauchard, Leonardo Capezzali). Beautiful images of knowledge passing on through generations will also be on stage on October 8, with a concert by Professor Edgar Moreau and his students Gabriel Guigner and Jean-Baptiste de Maria. Also in the festival’s programme are three pieces for cello solo and piano, just as fine and lyrical as the others. The October 3 concert by Yan Levionnois and Guillaume Bellom testifies the emancipation of an instrument. On October 15, Aurélien Pascal and Josquin Otal will play rare pieces from the 1800s by Raymond Marthe, Fernand Pollain, and Pablo Casals.