Festival Présences
2026
Edition 2026 — Finished
Edition 2026 — Présences
The 36th edition of the Festival Présences takes place from January 31 to February 8, 2026, at the Maison de la Radio et de la Musique, featuring a portrait of composer Georges Aperghis. Eleven concerts—including an opening performance by the Radio France Choir, the Maîtrise, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and a closing performance by the Orchestre National de France under the baton of Cristian Măcelaru—will showcase 23 composers and 18 world premieres. The program also includes a preview evening at Ircam and "l'Agoraphone," an off-festival day dedicated to sound experimentation.
36th Edition — A Portrait of Georges Aperghis
The Festival Présences returns for its 36th edition at the Maison de la Radio et de la Musique from January 31 to February 8, 2026, with a special focus on Georges Aperghis. Following previous editions dedicated to Steve Reich and Olga Neuwirth, Radio France honors this Athens-born composer, who has lived in Paris for over sixty years and remains an unclassifiable figure in contemporary musical theater.
The festival features eleven numbered concerts: opening on February 3 at the Auditorium (Champ-Contrechamp, with the Radio France Choir, the Maîtrise, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France), followed by evenings at Studio 104, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Quatuor Diotima), and a closing concert on February 8 by the Orchestre National de France conducted by Cristian Măcelaru, featuring violinist Christian Tetzlaff. A preview evening will be held on January 31 at the Ircam projection space, co-produced with Radio France. On February 7, "l'Agoraphone" will open the Agora of the Maison de la Radio for a day and evening of "off" events dedicated to sound experimentation, free of charge upon reservation.
According to the report published by Radio France, this edition featured 23 composers, 54 works (including 29 by Aperghis), 22 Radio France commissions, 18 world premieres, and 10 French premieres, drawing an audience of just over 9,500.
Programme
Saturday, January 31, 2026 — 8:00 PM
- 8:00 PM — Preview Concert · Ircam Projection Space — Georges Aperghis Pubs / Reklamen (excerpts), Dans le mur for piano and electronics; Sofia Avramidou Dimorphos Delta / folk song VII (world premiere); Georges Aperghis Trompe-oreille for trumpet and electronics (world premiere). Featuring Donatienne Michel-Dansac (soprano), Sofia Avramidou (voice), Ninon Hannecart-Ségal (piano), Marco Blaauw (trumpet), Nicolas Crosse (double bass), Rémi Le Taillandier and Dionysios Papanikolaou (musical informatics), Sylvain Cadars (Ircam sound diffusion). Co-production Radio France / Ircam – Centre Pompidou.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 — Radio France Auditorium
- 8:00 PM — Opening Concert · Champ-Contrechamp (Festival Présences 2026 #1) — Georges Aperghis Willy-Willy for equal voices (world premiere); Anahita Abbasi Prisme for ensemble (world premiere); Georges Aperghis Champ-Contrechamp for piano and ensemble, Pubs / Reklamen (excerpts); Philippe Leroux Nomadic Sounds; Alexandros Markeas Les Grands Chaos (world premiere). Featuring Greg Germain (narrator), Wilhem Latchoumia (piano), Donatienne Michel-Dansac (soprano), the Radio France Choir, the Maîtrise de Radio France, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, conducted by Ilan Volkov and Marc Desmons.
Wednesday, February 4, 2026 — Studio 104
- 8:00 PM — La Nuit en Tête (Festival Présences 2026 #2) — Georges Aperghis La Nuit en tête; Nicolas Tzortzis Énantiosème for flute and ensemble (world premiere); Eva Reiter Whiteout for voice, ensemble, and electronics (world premiere); Jacques Rebotier Musiciens, portraits for live and fixed voice; Bernard Cavanna Messe un jour ordinaire. Featuring the Radio France Choir and Ensemble Multilatérale, conducted by Léo Warynski.
Thursday, February 5, 2026 — Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
- 8:00 PM — Quatuor Diotima (Festival Présences 2026 #3) — Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet Op. 18 No. 1; Georges Aperghis String Quartet No. 2 (world premiere); Franz Schubert String Quintet in C major D 956. Featuring Victor Julien-Laferrière (cello) and the Quatuor Diotima.
Friday, February 6, 2026 — Studio 104
- 7:30 PM — Selfie in the Dark, Musikfabrik I (Festival Présences 2026 #4) — Arnulf Herrmann Un chant d'amour (French premiere); Myrto Nizami The Blue Window for 15 musicians (world premiere); Georges Aperghis Babil for clarinet and ensemble, Selfie in the Dark for two voices and ensemble (French premiere). Featuring Ensemble Musikfabrik, conducted by Emilio Pomárico.
- 10:30 PM — Profils, Duo d'Albronn / Ferrière (Festival Présences 2026 #5) — Luciano Berio Les mots sont allés; Sylvain Marty Bleu qui coupe (world premiere); Georges Aperghis Cinq pièces; Noriko Baba Bestiarium Musicale VII for percussion (world premiere); Georges Aperghis Profils. Featuring Aurélie Allexandre d'Albronn (cello) and Adélaïde Ferrière (percussion).
Saturday, February 7, 2026 — Maison de la Radio et de la Musique
- 2:00 PM–11:00 PM — L'Agoraphone, the "OFF" of Festival Présences 2026: a day and evening dedicated to sound experimentation (performances, sound art, short films, binaural sound, contemporary dance, concerts, discussions, live sets), in collaboration with the Silhouette association, Radio Campus Paris, and the Absence collective. Free admission upon reservation.
- 3:30 PM — Tingel Tangel (Festival Présences 2026 #6, Studio 104) — Georges Aperghis Sur le fil; Justina Repečkaitė Concertina-fold almanach for accordion (world premiere); anonymous El Cant dels ocells (traditional Catalan song, improvisation); Georges Aperghis Le corps à corps, Tingel Tangel. Featuring Angèle Chemin (soprano), Françoise Rivalland (percussion and cimbalom), Vincent Lhermet (accordion).
- 8:00 PM — Tales of a Summer Sea (Festival Présences 2026 #7, Auditorium) — Georges Aperghis Étude VII for orchestra (French premiere), Étude VIII for orchestra (French premiere); Mikel Urquiza Un désir démesuré d'amitié, concerto for clarinet, cello, piano, and orchestra (French premiere); Betsy Jolas Tales of a Summer Sea; Ondřej Adámek Where are you? (French premiere). Featuring Magdalena Kožená (mezzo-soprano), Trio Catch, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, conducted by Peter Rundel.
- 10:30 PM — Intermezzi, Musikfabrik II (Festival Présences 2026 #8, Studio 104) — Georges Aperghis Intermezzi (Parisian premiere). Featuring Ensemble Musikfabrik.
Sunday, February 8, 2026
- 3:00 PM — Folk Songs (Festival Présences 2026 #9, Auditorium) — Georges Aperghis Wild Romance for soprano and orchestra (French premiere); Jawher Matmati Pic/Cells (world premiere); Félix Roth engrenages (world premiere); Luciano Berio Folk Songs. Featuring Angèle Chemin (soprano), Ensemble NEXT, conducted by Sébastien Boin.
- 5:00 PM — Black light (Festival Présences 2026 #10, Studio 104) — Georges Aperghis Tourbillons (excerpts), Obstinate for double bass, Black Light for double bass, Zig-Bang (excerpts); Agata Zubel Hand in Hand for solo double bass (world premiere); Georges Aperghis It never comes again (world premiere). Featuring Emmanuelle Lafon (actress), Johanna Zimmer (soprano), Florentin Ginot (double bass).
- 6:30 PM — Closing Concert (Festival Présences 2026 #11, Auditorium) — Georges Aperghis Étude III for orchestra, Étude V for orchestra (French premiere); Ondřej Adámek Thin Ice for violin and orchestra (world premiere); Sofia Avramidou Innsmouth for orchestra (world premiere); Georges Aperghis Concerto for Accordion (French premiere). Featuring Christian Tetzlaff (violin), Jean-Étienne Sotty (accordion), Alma Bettencourt (organ), the Orchestre National de France, conducted by Cristian Măcelaru.
Full program published by Radio France (press release dated January 28, 2026: "Festival Présences 2026 from January 31 to February 8, 36th edition"). The 36th edition, a portrait of composer Georges Aperghis, brought together 23 composers, 54 works (including 29 by Aperghis, 18 world premieres, and 10 French premieres) across 13 concerts, with just over 9,500 attendees.
Highlights
- 36th edition, a portrait of composer Georges Aperghis
- Opening concert on February 3 (Champ-Contrechamp) with the Radio France Choir, the Maîtrise, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
- Closing concert on February 8 by the Orchestre National de France, conducted by Cristian Măcelaru, featuring Christian Tetzlaff (violin)
- 18 world premieres, including 7 works by Aperghis
- Preview at Ircam on January 31
- "L'Agoraphone," a free off-festival day and evening on February 7
Published by Valentin Contard, festival listings writer. Reviewed, corrected and approved by Christophe Contard, editor-in-chief. .