The French pianist fractured the fifth finger of his right hand in a car-door accident after leaving the Swiss festival and expects to spend around two months recovering.
French pianist Julien Quentin has undergone surgery in Berlin after fracturing the fifth finger of his right hand in an accident following this summer’s Verbier Festival, an injury expected to keep him away from the piano for around two months.
Quentin announced the injury on social media, explaining that his finger collided with a car door as he was getting out of the vehicle on his way to catch a flight back to Berlin.
The pianist underwent an operation at Krankenhaus Waldfriede in Berlin-Zehlendorf, where he is being treated by Prof. Martin Lautenbach, Medical Director and Chief Physician of the Center for Hand Surgery, Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery.
Quentin said he expects to leave hospital within two days and spend the following two months recovering. He hopes to begin playing again in October, gradually rebuilding his form as part of a rehabilitation programme.
Accident follows a busy Verbier Festival
The accident came after an active summer at the Verbier Festival, where Quentin, a long-standing presence at the Swiss festival, appeared in several chamber-music programmes.
Among his performances, he partnered violinist Amira Abouzahra on 18 July in works by Bartók, Kodály, Aziz El-Shawan, Gamal Abdel-Rahim Salama and Richard Strauss, and Stephen Waarts in recital the following day.
Later in the festival, Quentin appeared with Augustin Dumay on 30 July in Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Debussy’s Violin Sonata and Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 7, and also performed with Marc Bouchkov on 31 July.
The 2026 Verbier Festival ran from 16 July to 2 August.
Upcoming festival appearances affected
The injury has forced Quentin to withdraw from a series of engagements over the coming weeks. In his announcement, he specifically named Festival Groba in Spain, Schloss Elmau in Germany and the Tsinandali Festival in Georgia among the events he will miss.
Quentin had been announced as one of the international artists taking part in the 14th Festival Groba in Ponteareas, Galicia, running from 16 to 22 August. The festival has since announced pianist Zee Zee as his replacement for concerts on 18, 20 and 21 August.
His planned appearances at the Tsinandali Festival included performances with singers Chen Reiss and Okka von der Damerau on 11 September and a recital with cellist Kian Soltani on 12 September.
Quentin said he intends to use the enforced break to spend time with his family and expressed optimism about his recovery.
“I will be back soon,” he wrote, adding: “Recovery mode is on.”
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