The Forest Festival or Festival of the Forests (french: Festival des Forêts) is a

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

created by Bruno Ory-Lavollée in 1992 held every year in June and July in Compiegne, northern France. The Forest Festival offers

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

in the natural scenery of the and the Forest of Compiègne. Four world premieres have been presented at the Festival e.g. ''Winter's Night'' by

Nicolas Bacri Nicolas Bacri (born 23 November 1961) is a French composer. He has written works that include seven symphonies, eleven string quartets, eight cantatas, two one-act operas, three piano sonatas, two cello and piano sonatas, four violin and piano ...

, who was composer in residence at the Forest Festival 2010-2012. In 2014, South Korean businessman

Yoo Byung-eun Yoo Byung-eun (Korean: 유병언; Hanja: 兪炳彥) was a South Korean businessman and inventor, who as a photographer was known under the art name Ahae. Yoo became the focus of Park Geun-hye’s administration shortly after the Sinking of MV Sew ...

had committed to a (~) sponsorship of the gala concert at

Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne The Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne is a theater in Compiègne, France. Origins The Emperor Napoleon III decided to construct a theater in Compiègne to entertain his court in 1866. He chose the location and the architect of the building, Gabr ...

on 4 July 2014, where his photographs were to be

projected Projected is an American rock supergroup consisting of Sevendust members John Connolly and Vinnie Hornsby, Alter Bridge and Creed drummer Scott Phillips, and former Submersed and current Tremonti guitarist Eric Friedman. The band released thei ...

during the world premiere in its entirety of Nicolas Bacri's ''Les Quatre Saisons'' opus 80. Following an open letter on 12 June from Korean

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

s in France to, among others, French Minister of Culture

Aurélie Filippetti Aurélie Filippetti ( ; born 17 June 1973) is a French people, French politician and novelist. She served as Minister of Culture (France), French Minister of Culture and Communications from 2012 until 2014, first in the government of Jean-Marc ...

and the president of the Forest Festival, and subsequent talks between the festival and the Ministry of Culture,

French Foreign Minister The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs () is the ministry of the Government of France that handles France's foreign relations. Since 1855, its headquarters have been located at 37 Quai d'Orsay, close to the National Assembly. The term Qua ...

Laurent Fabius on 30 June gave written notice to the festival suggesting the projection should be renounced "out of sensitivity and respect for the Korean people mourning ollowing the sinking of ''Sewol''">Sewol.html" ;"title="ollowing the sinking of ''Sewol">ollowing the sinking of ''Sewol'' in particular the families of the young victims, and in the interest of the Festival and of France"; the projection and the sponsorship was cancelled on 2 July.

References

External links

* Music festivals in France Music festivals established in 1992 Classical music festivals in France {{France-org-stub