Introduced in 1999 under the patronage of French Ambassador to Manila Gilles Chouraqui, the celebration is patterned after "French May in Hong Kong," the diplomat’s brainchild when he was still a consul in the former Crown Colony.
Over the past two years, "French Spring in Manila" has presented a varied cultural program featuring, among others, the world famous mime Marcel Marceau, avant garde choreographer Marie Claude Pietragalla, jazz musician Alain Brunet and a festival of French films.
As in previous festivals, "French Spring in Manila 2001" will again be presented by the French Embassy and Alliance Française de Manille, with the participation of Association Française d’Action Artistique.
The theme of this year’s celebration is "A Celebration of Youth" and it promises a fresh burst of young French talents from music, dance, film and the visual arts.
"French Spring in Manila 2001" opens tomorrow night with a heavyweight performance from the Orchestre de Contrebasses at the Captain’s Bar of the Mandarin Oriental Manila.
The orchestra has six members, namely Christian Genet, Xavier Lugue, Olivier Moret, Etienne Roumanet, Yves Torchinsky and Jean-Philippie Viret. These composer-performers perform a revolutionary repertoire that push the double bass to extreme limits, lifting not just the audiences’ spirits but their instruments as well, as they go about their numbers.
The orchestra will also grace the gala dinner officially opening the "French Spring in Manila" at the Mandarin Oriental’s grand ballroom the following evening.
Brunet’s jazz concert series was one of the most successful shows during the first "French Spring in Manila." He performed to jampacked audiences in venues like Vincent’s Pub and Edsa Shangri-La Hotel’s Gillespie’s. A well-received part of Brunet’s stint was his jamming with the Ugoy-Ugoy Band.
Brunet’s return to this year’s "French Spring" is a much anticipated event, specially among jazz connoisseurs. This time around, Brunet will engage in a musical dialogue with Buhay, a group composed local jazz artists Tots Tolentino, Mar Dizon, Wowie Posadas and Meong Pacana. Together they will do their take on popular French melodies, such as Sous Les Ciel de Paris and Les Feuilles Mortes in what promises to be an exciting cross-cultural exchange.
Brunet will have other performances at Monks Dream on Jupiter St., Makati City on June 1, and at Freedom Bar in Quezon City on June 3. He also accepted an invitation from Gillespie’s to jam with its musicians on the evening of June 2.
During his stay François will meet with Filipino artists, journalists and students interested in contemporary forms of pictorial creation.
In conjunction with the exhibit, there will be a slide show at the Alliance Française de Manille auditorium accompanied by a commentary, explaining the current movements in the French art scene. Afterwards, artists and art critics will gather for a lively discussion.
The sixth French Film Festival will feature recent French film releases. It opens June 8 with the multi-awarded Le Gout des Autres (It Takes All Kinds) by Agnes Jaoui. The festival will run until June 18 and will screen the following movies: La Fille Sur le Pont (The Girl on the Bridge), Taxi 1, Place Vendôme, Une Affaire de Gout (A Matter of Taste), Merci Pour Le Chocolat (Nightcap), Indochine, Code Inconnu (Code Unknown), Est-Ouest (East-West), Salsa, and Asterix and Obelix Contre Caesar (Asterix and Obelix versus Caesar). All screenings are at the Cinema, Shangri-La Plaza Mall. All screenings are free to the public
He was educated in Paris under Michele Auclair, in Salzburg under Sandor Frederic, and at the Gstaad Academy under Yehudi Menuhin.
Pelassy recorded his first album when he was 16; he now has 17 albums to his name.
Pelassy visits the Philippines for the second time and will be accompanied on the piano by Camerata dell Arte Foundation’s Luci Magalit.
On June 20 and 21, he will perform Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 1, Saint-Saens Rondo Capriccioso, Brahms Violin Sonata No. 3 and Ravel’s Tzigane.
This cherished tradition comes to town and will be the fitting finale to "French Spring in Manila 2001." This year’s featured bands are South Border with Bituin Escalante, Rivermaya, Barbie’s Cradle, Razorback, Ugoy-Ugoy, Blue-Rats, Shots of Wisdom, Skin, Pinikpikan, Puro Ritmo, Brownbeat All-Stars, Imago, Cynthia Alexander, Spy, Rubber Inc., The Manila Youth Symphony Orchestra and many more. They will be performing at chosen venues in Malate showcasing their own particular music style. There will also be street theater, poetry reading, and performance art.