Eliane Richepin founded the Annecy International Music Centre in the 1970s in order to create not only an academy made up of established artists and great teachers of world renown, but also to support and launch promising young musicians. Particularly committed to promoting the next generation of pianists, she also created “ The Night of the Piano ” in 1980.
In 1997, the event became the Annecy Festival Estival & Academy ( AFEA ), under the direction of Pascal Escande, who invites internationally renowned artists and organizes masterclasses and academies. These events take place every summer in key places in the City of Annecy and its surroundings, from the Château-Musée to the Église Ste Bernadette, as well as at the Cathédrale St. Pierre and the High School of Music. The Festival is now an essential part of Annecy summer events.
Since 2010, the Festival has been supported by a passionate patron of music, the Andrey V. Cheglakov Foundation, as well as by institutional partnerships with the City of Annecy, its Urban Community and the Haute Savoie Departmental Council. With this new dimension, the festival allows the public to enjoy an exceptional level of music and become a major player in the national and international cultural landscape under the name of Annecy classic festival.
