Masterclass

 I skipped the swimming pool in favour of the market today, as I needed to stock up on fruit and veg. Inevitably I bumped into S and T, as I virtually always do at the market, so we had a coffee at the crowded Conti, lucky to score three seats in the shade.

The 6 pm concert on the last day of the piano festival featured, as usual, the masterclass students. Obviously not big names (yet) but I always think it's worth going to. The students are in their late teens to early 20s and play with such dedication and aplomb. Even in extremely windy conditions; just as well they were playing without scores. Today's youngest was Hannah (extra), just 14 believe it or not. She played (by heart) Debussy's L'Isle Joyeuse, a sparkling Rachmaninov Moment Musical and this lovely contemporary piece, Dream Images, by George Crumb. Utterly captivating.

My main is of the rather more showy Max Respaut, who has only been playing the piano for three years. He won the prize for "most photogenic student", especially when playing a Liszt étude, Murmures de la Forêt. It was a really enjoyable concert. Album here.

I'd have liked to go to this evening's final concert (cello, guitar, piano) but it was our first summer event in the village: local celebrity JordiCé's recently released film, Un Coin de Campagne (trailer), filmed about 20 km from here. We've failed to see it several times so I didn't want to miss it. Shown in the presence of course of JordiCé himself and star Circé. It was fun to see so many familiar faces in the film, and it's a true representation of life in the hippiest corner of the Corbières. Ainsi va la vie dans nos campagnes, as Serge our mayor is fond of saying.