"With the Walden Festival, we present classical and contemporary music, jazz and also non-Western music in a very informal context. This is the third edition. We're looking for music lovers who look beyond just classical music. With us, you can experience short concerts (35 to 40 minutes) in a very accessible way at fantastic locations like the green surroundings of Leopold Park in Brussels. Moreover, the festival takes place in and around buildings like the Solvay Library, a jewel of art deco style, but also the Lycée Jacqmain, designed by Horta, where we can use the grand hall. There are also the magnificent gardens of the Museum of Natural Sciences and the garden of the Wiertz Museum, which has been renamed the Citizens Garden and is run by the European Parliament. It's a wonderfully beautiful place where you can listen to music surrounded by busts of philosophers like Plato and Socrates."

What makes Walden a typically Brussels festival?

"We have a festival that links classical music with jazz, new classical and world music in a very organic way. We also do this based on the diversity that Brussels has to offer, which means that many Brussels artists are featured in our program. Brussels has a very diverse society and we want to reflect that. For example, we have the Aleph quintet, including an oud player, guitarist Julien Tassin and Brussels-based Philippe Herreweghe with his Collegium Vocale. But it's Brussels in the sense that first and foremost the locations stand out. That's a fact, and also that Brussels is one of Europe's greenest capitals and that we can use one of those green lungs. That's typically Brussels. But I was also inspired by the WoNDeRFeeL festival in the Dutch town of 's-Graveland, namely to bring the look & feel of a pop festival to a classical music festival and related genres. That's what we want to have in Brussels too, and with this third edition we've come a long way." Does the festival have a connection to Henry Thoreau's philosophy of nature?"Thoreau's book Walden contains reflections on a better society in which he linked philosophy and meditations on nature to each other. It's a cult book that keeps resurfacing and we found it fitting because we're also dealing with sustainability in a very effective way at the festival. We've written a sustainability charter with 7 elements. For example, all food at the festival is completely vegetarian. It's about enjoying with respect for the environment, namely the environment we use, and returning it as it was. We encourage both artists and audiences to minimize the impact of travel. Artists who don't have to come from far away, we ask to take the train. In our communications too, we're as sustainable as possible in that we keep printed materials to a minimum. We support a project with Bos+ where people can make donations to enable greening of the Brussels capital by young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. We do this together with the National Lottery. Another association with the name Walden is with the radio program Walden on the classical radio station Klara where we'll be on air live on Saturday July 15 from 6 PM to 10 PM and Sunday July 16 from 2 PM to 8 PM." What stands out this year? "I'm very pleased that we can present Lorenzo Gatto together with Brussels Philharmonic in Philip Glass's beautiful violin concerto. I'm also thrilled that we have pianist and composer Joep Beving from the Netherlands, who appeals to a very large audience. Also the trio Joubrand with 3 Palestinian brothers who play the oud and are highly regarded in France. The Collegium Vocale is of course fantastic to have on board. And the jazz project of Emile Parisien (soprano sax) and Vincent Peirani (accordion) is wonderful.

Our strong point is the combination between the different genres in the setting we now have. We absolutely must maintain that. Areas where we want to develop further are strengthening our relationship with the city of Brussels, for example by involving even more Brussels artists in the program, and sustainability. We can go much further in that regard; it's an ongoing point of focus."

Walden Festival

Leopold Park, Brussels

July 15-16, 2023 Does the festival have a connection to Henry Thoreau's philosophy of nature? (wind) players and half-star restaurants in France. The Collegium Vocale is of course fantastic to have on board. And the jazz project by Emile Parisien (soprano sax) and Vincent Peirani (accordion) is wonderful.

Our greatest strength is the combination of different genres in the environment we now have. We must absolutely maintain that. Areas we want to develop further are strengthening our relationship with the city of Brussels, for example by involving more Brussels-based artists in our programming, and sustainability. We can go much further on that front—it's an ongoing priority.

WHAT: Walden Festival
WHERE: Park Leopold, Brussels
WHEN: July 15 and 16, 2023
ORGANIZATION: Festival of Flanders Brussels
TICKETS AND INFO: www.waldenfestival.be