58th Festival de La Chaise-Dieu

Founded in 1966 by virtuoso pianist Georges Cziffra, this is one of France's most prestigious festivals of sacred and symphonic music. It runs each year in late August, centred on the Saint-Robert abbey church in La Chaise-Dieu, in the Haute-Loire, but also spreading to some twenty other towns across Auvergne, from the theatre in Le Puy-en-Velay to the Saint-Julien basilica in Brioude. Its programme spans every style and era, from baroque to contemporary, including opera and chamber music, with over fifty free concerts that bring classical music to a wide audience.