At the end of the Beauvais Festival 2024, it was announced that in 2025 the artistic direction of the Festival will be entrusted to Diana Ligeti who will replace Emmanuelle Bertrand: a good opportunity to interview an excellent performer, passionate teacher, and expert organizer.
When did you decide to dedicate your life to music? Why did you choose to study the cello?
I think that since I was little, I liked music, and it became clear to me around the age of 11 or 12 that I wanted to be a musician. I started playing the cello quite late, around the age of 9 and a half, but very quickly I was able to play orchestra and chamber music; that’s what I liked most about my learning and what pushed me to continue.
Can you briefly tell us about your studies? As a teacher, how do you evaluate the teachers who contributed to your training? In your opinion, what are the characteristics of a “good” teacher?
I was incredibly lucky: to have exceptional teachers, dedicated to their students, who offered me very rewarding projects for a student, in addition to passing on their knowledge. From my native Romania, through the Paris Conservatory (CNSM) and the Menuhin Academy in Gstaad (IMMA), my teachers were magnificent cellists and inspiring musicians. They paid particular attention to my qualities and corrected my faults with skill and kindness. Listening to the students’ particularities while always keeping in mind the educational and musical objectives seems to be the best way to help them progress. Designing and involving students in inspiring projects is the best method! Teaching is a “whole”: of course, it is about playing and explaining, having lots of knowledge in many areas, but also bringing generosity and attention to others daily. This requires concentration, imagination, and speed of reaction at all times. Each student is different, so we must be a different teacher in front of each student!
Participating in competitions is often a fundamental stage in a musician’s career. What were, from your point of view, the most decisive competitions for your career?
All of them! In Romania, I participated in regional competitions, their preparation and the confrontation with other cellists of my age, made me progress enormously. Subsequently, all the international competitions in which I participated were a great stimulator of progress, while allowing me to situate myself and keep a “cool head”. As a “career accelerator”, the Osaka Chamber Music Competition, which I won in Trio in 1996, was decisive.
What was your first concert? And the concert that gave you the most satisfaction? As a concert performer, do you prefer to perform as a soloist or in chamber ensembles?
I gave my first concert a few weeks after starting the cello. It was an audition of my teacher’s class in the big concert hall of my city. It was great, for a child who is starting an instrument to be there where he sees his mother every week (my mother was a pianist in the orchestra of my city). Since then, I have loved everything about concerts, especially the fact of being able to share something powerful with so many people, whether it is solo, in chamber music, or as a member of an orchestra. I love music whatever it is, everywhere!
How important are the characteristics of the place where you are playing to you? And how important is public behavior?
For almost 50 years I have played everywhere, in all kinds of venues, and even outdoors. Of course, beautiful venues with perfect acoustics are very inspiring. But the important thing is the exchange with the audience, and extraordinary moments can happen in inadequate, ugly places, without acoustics… Each audience is different and expresses its enthusiasm or discontent in very different ways, but you can realize the quality of listening from the first notes. And what a victory when you feel a “cold” audience applauding enthusiastically at the end of the concert!
Which musicians have you collaborated most willingly with?
Everyone! There is always something to learn, to experiment. Music, in addition to being an art in perpetual motion, is also a social and diplomatic laboratory. I like playing in my regular chamber groups, but also discovering new artists. It may not always be the ideal alchemy, or sometimes we lack time, but the experience is always enriching. And I especially love setting up projects with my students!
Which authors and compositions do you love most? Which ones do you love the least?
My philosophy is to love the composers we are about to play the most! To play well and have a sincere and authentic interpretation, we must love the work we are playing. If we don’t like it, we must have the courage not to play it. By trying to find an artistic meaning even in a mediocre work, we can achieve a beautiful result. Masterpieces are rediscovered every day, and with each interpretation, the more we work on them, the more we discover new facets.
If you were forced to choose between a career as a concert performer and that of a teacher, which would you choose and why?
At my age, I have absolutely no regrets, I have had a very rich life as a concert performer around the world, so I would choose teaching without hesitation. I love teaching, the contact with students keeps me eternally young. Passing on your experience and seeing talent blossom is truly a source of rejuvenation. I also love organizing festivals.
Was there a moment in your life when you thought about abandoning the cello and doing something else? If so, what did you plan to do?
No, never. I have been incredibly lucky to always find answers to my questions and to never hesitate, to be there in the right place at the right time. I think I have worked a lot, and I still work a lot. But this work brings me so much satisfaction…
In 2025 he will take over from Emmanuelle Bertrand as director of the Beauvais Festival, one of the longest-running and most prestigious cello festivals in Europe. What difficulties do you expect to face in this new role? And what are the objectives it aims to achieve?
It is an honor and a great challenge to take over from Emmanuelle Bertrand at the Beauvais Festival. Fortunately, I already have 10 years of artistic direction experience at the American Art Schools of Fontainebleau, and this experience is very useful to me. I would like to create programming open to all, varied, and accessible, but without ever compromising on excellence. We must also listen to the requests and imperatives of other structures and cultural actors in the region, meet the public, and then bring them to the concert. The festival has a great tradition of transmission via masterclasses, participatory workshops, educational concerts, and conferences, and I intend to continue this mission. I seek consistency in programming while remaining attentive to the concerns of today’s world. I want to give increased visibility to local cultural actors and new talents. Every year there will be a “guest country” to allow the Beauvais public to meet other music and other artists. In 2025, Brazil is invited, with the festival’s participation in the “Brazilian season” of the French Institute, and in 2026 it will be Japan. Every year, there will also be a “guest instrument” to create a counterpoint with the cello. 2025 is the year of the double bass and 2026, is that of the koto, a traditional Japanese instrument. There is no shortage of ideas or musicians! The major challenge of any festival is to find financial balance and diversify funding sources to have a stable and reliable budget. It is a condition of survival, of coherence in programming, and therefore of public loyalty.
Thank you for your time, and best wishes for your new adventure with the Beauvais festival!
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