The Festival Messiaen au Pays de la Meije returns to the French Alps from 25 July to 1 August, with George Benjamin, the Ensemble intercontemporain and Quatuor Diotima at the heart of its 28th edition.
The Festival Messiaen au Pays de la Meije will hold its 2026 edition from 25 July to 1 August in La Grave and several neighbouring locations across the Hautes-Alpes and Isère. British composer and conductor George Benjamin will be the principal featured artist, in a programme that places his music alongside works by Olivier Messiaen and a broad selection of 20th- and 21st-century composers.
Benjamin will conduct the Ensemble intercontemporain in a programme devoted entirely to his music on 27 July at the Salle du Dôme in Le Monêtier-les-Bains. Soprano Jenny Daviet and mezzo-soprano Joanne Evans will perform Into the Little Hill, his chamber opera written with librettist Martin Crimp, alongside the instrumental works Flight and Viola, Viola.
The festival will open on 25 July with a day of events in the Matheysine region, including nature activities at the Maison Messiaen, an evening concert by the Ensemble intercontemporain in La Mure, and an outdoor electronic music and fireworks event beside Lake Petichet.
Pierre Bleuse will conduct the opening concert, with cellist Éric-Maria Couturier joining the Ensemble intercontemporain for the world premiere of Arnulf Herrmann’s cello concerto Vor uns liegen wunderbare Tage. The programme also includes Benjamin’s At First Light and music by Unsuk Chin.
Benjamin will also appear as a pianist alongside Pierre-Laurent Aimard at the church of La Grave on 28 July. Entitled Divisions, the recital brings together music by Messiaen, Nikolai Obukhov and Alexander Scriabin, as well as the French premiere of a work by Benjamin. A public conversation devoted to the composer will follow on 29 July at the Jardin du Lautaret, led by festival founder Gaëtan Puaud.
Messiaen’s music remains central to the programme. The Trio Moreau — cellist Edgar Moreau, violinist David Moreau and pianist Jérémie Moreau — will join clarinettist Patrick Messina for the Quatuor pour la fin du Temps on 29 July. Soprano Karen Vourc’h and pianist Anne Le Bozec will perform the complete song cycle Harawi the following evening, while Musicatreize and conductor Roland Hayrabedian will present Cinq Rechants on 1 August.
Quatuor Diotima will give three concerts during the festival. Its programmes range from Mozart, Debussy and Szymanowski to Gérard Pesson, Chaya Czernowin, Misato Mochizuki, Kaija Saariaho and Michaël Levinas, whose new work will receive its world premiere on 30 July.
Other new works include a creation by Alexandros Markeas and a vocal composition by Zad Moultaka, setting a text by Marie Desbiolles. Composers represented throughout the week also include Tristan Murail, Philippe Hersant, Mikhail Petrossian, Helena Tulve, Lou Harrison and Toru Takemitsu.
The festival’s connection between music and the Alpine landscape will extend beyond its concerts. Guided walks will explore glaciers and climate, as well as medicinal and edible plants, while young musicians from the IESM in Aix-en-Provence will perform outdoor aubades at the Jardin du Lautaret.
Founded in 1998 in tribute to Olivier Messiaen, the festival takes place in the mountainous region where the composer regularly sought inspiration. Its concerts, talks and walks are presented in La Grave and other locations closely associated with Messiaen, including Saint-Théoffrey, where he is buried.
The festival was directed by Gaëtan Puaud during its first two decades and has been led by Bruno Messina since 2019. Its programming continues to combine Messiaen’s music with works by his pupils, successors and younger composers, while maintaining a longstanding commitment to new commissions and world premieres.
More info, here.
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