Paris dans la Belle Époque

Des sommets atteints par Marcel Proust à la décadence du Moulin Rouge, la Belle Époque (entre 1871 et 1914 approximativement) fut une période où la culture parisienne connut un essor sans précédent. Les salons parisiens devinrent des lieux où poètes, peintres et compositeurs se réunissaient pour partager leur art. La soprano française Laetitia Grimaldi et le pianiste sud-africain Ammiel Bushakevitz proposent un programme de chansons romantiques françaises, présenté dans le style d’un concert de salon parisien de la Belle Époque.

From the heights of Marcel Proust to the decadence of the Moulin Rouge, the belle époque (circa 1871-1914) was a time when culture flourished more than ever in Paris. The salons of Paris became places where poets, painters and composers would meet to share their art. The French soprano Laetitia Grimaldi and South African pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz offer a program of romantic French songs, presented in the style of a Parisian salon concert from the Belle Époque.

LAETITIA GRIMALDI

“A SINGER WHO COULD STEP ONTO ANY PROFESSIONAL STAGE”  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Since her Carnegie Hall debut in 2013, Laetitia Grimaldi has sung in many renowned halls, opera stages and international festivals worldwide: the Kennedy Center (USA), Shanghai & Forbidden City Concert Halls (China), Festival Pitic (Mexico), Festival Musica Classica (Canada), Verbier Festival (Switzerland), Ravinia Festival (USA), Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (France) and the Melbourne Festival (Australia).

In 2017 Laetitia Grimaldi was awarded the first prize in three international competitions:1st prize-GrandPrix at the Concours International de Mélodies Françaises in Montreal, Canada, the 1st prize at the Concours International Robert Massard in Bordeaux, France as well as the 1st Prize at the Concours International Pro Musicis in Paris.

Born in France, Laetitia Grimaldi spent her childhood in Lisbon and London. After beginning her vocal studies with Teresa Berganza, she continued her education with Lorraine Nubar in New York City, first at the Manhattan School of Music, followed by a Master degree from the Juilliard School, New York.

Laetitia Grimaldi has had the privilege to work with conductors and artists such as William Christie, Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, Vlad Iftinka, Antoine Glatard, Jorge Parodi, Ryan Brown, Anne Manson and Carlos Miguel Prieto, Pablo Sainz Villegas, Malcolm Martineau and she has performed extensive recital tours in China, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa, Canada, the USA and throughout Europe as well as performances with orchestras in Montreal, Brasilia, Cape Town and the Château de Versailles.

Recent performances include recitals in New York’s Carnegie Hall and Berlin’s Konzerthaus as well as a gala performance together with Placido Domingo.

AMMIEL BUSHAKEVITZ

Ammiel Bushakevitz began playing the piano at the age of four. He has performed as soloist, chamber musician and song pianist on six continents, including at New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Paris Philharmonie, Berlin Konzerthaus, Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Shanghai Concert Hall. His performances include the festivals of Salzburg, Lucerne, Bayreuth, Aix-en-Provence, Heidelberg, Milan, Montreal, Beijing, Brasilia and Melbourne.

His recordings include numerous award-winning albums with Harmonia Mundi, Alpha, Pentatone, Berlin Classics, BIS, Gramola, Solfa, Hänssler Classics and Deutsche Grammophon. Hist recording awards include the Diapason d’Or de l’Année, the German Record Critics’ Prize and the Dutch Edison Prize.

Ammiel Bushakevitz grew up in South Africa and studied in Leipzig and Paris. He has a special love for Lieder and was one of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s last private pupils. Together with Jóhann Kristinsson he has performed all of Schubert’s large song cycles and a large portion of Gustav Mahler’s Lieder.

Ammiel Bushakevitz is an alumnus of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), an Edison Fellow of the British Library, a member of the Société des Arts Sciences et Lettres de Paris, London and artistic director of thinternational cultural association, Les Voix d’Orphée, which he founded together with Laetitia Grimaldi. Ammiel Bushakevitz was named Steinway Artist in 2025.

Programme

Charles Gounod Chanson de printemps
Le premier jour de mai
Ce que je suis sans toi
Viens! Les gazons sont verts

Henri Duparc L’invitation au voyage
Chanson triste
La vie antérieure

Gabriel Fauré Nell
Après un rêve
La fleur qui va sur l’eau
Les berceaux
Reynaldo Hahn À Chloris
Quand je fus pris au pavillon
Néère

Cécile Chaminade Villanelle
Mélanie Bonis Songe
Augusta Holmes À Trianon
Pauline Viardot Haï luli
Joseph Cantaloube Baïlero
Leo Délibes Les filles de Cadix

Laetitia Grimaldi – soprano
Ammiel Bushakevitz – piano