Les Printemps Slaves 2026: Celebrating the Belle Époque

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While music of the Slavic countries naturally evokes the romantic spirit of the 19th century, this year’s 13th edition of Les Printemps Slaves takes a more focused approach: that of the Belle Époque. Spanning the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, this period marked a transformation in musical language, bridging the romantic legacy with new forms of expression.

“It was an extremely fruitful period for the arts,” explains pianist and Artistic Director Irina Krasnyanskaya. “Many composers created seminal works during this time that shaped modern musical language.” Major figures such as Sergei Rachmaninov and Antonín Dvořák exemplify this artistic effervescence.

Between Influences and Resonances

The festival highlights the artistic exchanges characteristic of this era. Alongside Rachmaninov, Scriabin, and Prokofiev, works by Debussy and Ravel are also presented, but through the lens of transcriptions written by Slavic composers. This serves as a reminder of the close ties between European musical traditions at the turn of the century.

Irina Krasnyanskaya. Photo: Natalie Sartisson

The festival opens on May 12 with a gala concert at Maison de la culture Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. Musicians from various communities—Ukrainian, Russian, and Québécois—will take part. The following day, a project combining music and film includes a screening of the 1916 silent film A Life for a Life by Yevgeny Bauer, accompanied live on the piano by Guillaume Martineau.

Subsequent concerts take place at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. On May 27, Krasnyanskaya and Jean-Fabien Schneider will present Mythes et visions, a program for two pianos featuring works from the Belle Époque. Cellist Stéphane Tétreault and pianist Chloé Dumoulin perform Rachmaninov’s Sonata for Cello and Piano, alongside works by Shostakovich and Dvořák on May 30.

Jazz and Mediation

The festival concludes on June 1 with the Orchestre Nouvelle Génération and Montreal pianist Matt Herskowitz in a program blending jazz and classical music centred on Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

Each concert will be preceded by a talk lasting about 30 minutes, exploring the connections between musical works and other art forms, particularly painting and literature from Slavic countries. “Music remains a universal language that can bring us together in an often-divided world,” says Krasnyanskaya.