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Following the success of the summer edition...

"Les Nocturnes " at the Mediterranean University Center

Nour Ayadi and Philippe Bianconi

For this new season, we are delighted to invite you to the prestigious setting of the Centre Universitaire Méditerranéen (CUM) in Nice for a series of exceptional recitals.

To kick off this series of musical events, we are deeply honored to welcome pianistNour Ayadi, followed by the great French maestro, Philippe Bianconi.

Two recitals, two artistic sensibilities, one celebration of the Romantic piano—an invitation to explore the passionate world of Brahms, Liszt, and Chopin.

With intimate lyricism, dazzling virtuosity, and expressive depth, the two artists will reveal the full richness of a repertoire in which the piano takes on the roles of confidant, poet, and orchestra in turn.

Two exceptional events filled with emotion and romance.

We look forward to seeing you at the first recital on Saturday, October 17, at 6:00 p.m.

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Nour Ayadi
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October 17, 2026

Nour Ayadi, the brilliance of the romantic piano…

Over the course of this recital, Nour Ayadi invites the audience on a journey to the heart of Romanticism through four masterful works by Chopin, Liszt, and Brahms. A program of rare intensity, it will highlight every facet of her talent: expressive depth, a delicate touch, dramatic power, and virtuosity.

    Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op. 61, opens up a world of freedom and poetry. In this visionary work, the nobility of the Polish dance blends with dreams, intimacy, and heroic fervor. Here, Nour Ayadi will be able to showcase the full extent of her artistry in musical storytelling, evoking everything from the most subtle atmospheres to the most ardent outbursts.

    With the famousScherzo No. 2, Op. 31, Chopin takes contrast to its peak. From its very first measures—mysterious and questioning—the music captivates. Light and shadow, tenderness and passion echo one another in a dazzling musical structure. This piece demands as much sensitivity as it does mastery: a balance that finds an inspired interpreter in Nour Ayadi’s performance.

    Liszt’sMephisto Waltz No. 1then sweeps the listener into a fascinating whirlwind. Incandescent virtuosity, bewitching rhythms, and passionate lyricism combine to create an almost theatrical scene, where the piano seems to transform into an orchestra. Here, Nour Ayadi reveals a magnetic presence and irresistible energy, in the service of music that is as spectacular as it is spellbinding.

Finally, Brahms’sVariations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, majestically crown this program. Starting from a theme of great simplicity, Brahms builds a musical monument of prodigious richness. Each variation possesses its own color and character, right up to the final fugue, which is majestic and luminous. It is a work that demands the performer’s intelligence, endurance, and imagination all at once.

With this rich program, Nour Ayadi promises much more than a display of virtuosity: a true musical experience, where technique takes a back seat to emotion. Combining Chopin’s poetry, Liszt’s vertigo, and Brahms’s grandeur, this recital promises to be an exceptional encounter with a pianist of dazzling talent and some of the most beautiful works in the repertoire.

Join us for this rare musical moment…

The program:

1. Chopin – Polonaise-Fantasy

2. Chopin – Scherzo No. 2

3. Liszt – Mephisto Waltz

- Intermission -

4. Brahms – Variations on a Theme by Handel

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December 5, 2026

Philippe Bianconi: Poetry, Colors, and Virtuosity

On December 5, 2026, the stage of the Mediterranean University Center will welcome one of our greatest poets of the keyboard, Philippe Bianconi. Internationally recognized for his refined elegance, his luminous tone, and the precision of his musical structures, the pianist invites us on a grand musical journey, exploring the heights of Romanticism and the enchantment of Impressionism.

The recital will open with the twilight intimacy of Johannes Brahms’s Fantasies, Op. 116. A veritable diary of the composer in his twilight years, this collection alternates between fiery, tormented Capriccios and Intermezzos of deeply moving tenderness and melancholy. The first part will then shift to the theatricality of Franz Liszt. Philippe Bianconi will first showcase the passionate lyricism of “Sonetto 104 del Petrarca,” from *Years of Pilgrimage*, before ringing out the majestic and tragic bells of the Funerals.

After intermission, the horizon brightens with Claude Debussy’s *Estampes* . A leading interpreter of French music, Philippe Bianconi will sculpt light and space to present us with three scenes of fascinating exoticism: the distant echoes of *Les Pagodes*, the sultry, heady heat of *La soirée dans Grenade*, and finally the virtuosic effervescence of *Les Jardins sous la pluie*.

To cap off the evening, the pianist will revisit the genius of Frédéric Chopin through two of his most epic masterpieces. Ballade No. 1, Op. 23, will unfold its dramatic and chivalric narrative, before Scherzo No. 3, Op. 39—with its dazzling cascades of chords and crystal-clear chorales—brings the recital to a close with a veritable fireworks display of piano virtuosity.

An event you really won't want to miss…

The program:

1. Brahms – Fantasies, Op. 116
(Capriccio in D minor, Intermezzo in A minor, Capriccio in G minor, Intermezzo in E major, Intermezzo in E minor, Intermezzo in E major, Capriccio in D minor)

2. Liszt – Petrarch’s Sonnet 104 (from *Years of Pilgrimage*)

3. Liszt – Funeral (excerpt from *Poetic and Religious Harmonies*)

- Intermission -

4. Debussy – Estampes (“Pagodes,” “An Evening in Granada,” “Gardens in the Rain”)

5. Chopin – Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23

6. Chopin – Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39

Position Information

Directions to the Mediterranean University Center

By tram:

Mediterranean University Center tram stop: 3-minute walk. Cross the tracks, take the
heading northeast on Rue de France toward Rue Paul Valéry, then turn right onto Rue Paul Valéry. Turn left onto Promenade des Anglais.

By car: 

The Indigo Nice Magnan Parking Lot (4 Rue de la Corderie, 06000 Nice) is a 12-minute walk away. You can also take the tram (one stop).

Address for "
" Les Nocturnes at the CUM

65 Promenade des Anglais, 06000 Nice

Mediterranean University Center - Nice

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Biography

Nour Ayadi

Nour Ayadi

Nour Ayadi: A Virtuoso with a Passion for Piano Nocturnes

Nour Ayadi began playing the piano at the age of six in Morocco. She quickly made a name for herself on the international scene thanks to an extraordinary career that combines musical poetry and academic excellence.

Education and Academic Excellence

Her musical studies took her to the prestigious École Normale de Musique de Paris as well as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP). She has just reached a major milestone by earning her Certificate of Qualification as a Piano Teacher (CA), a state-issued diploma from the CNSMDP. This distinction marks the end of a highly symbolic ten-year cycle of study at this institution, where she took her first steps in France. Remarkably, she has successfully balanced her musical career with her outstanding graduate studies, also earning a Master’s degree in public policy from Sciences Po Paris.

Awards and Honors

His talent has been recognized with several prestigious awards:

  • Victoires de la Musique Classique: She was nominated in the “Best New Instrumental Soloist” category at the 2024 awards.

  • Cortot Prize (2019): She won this major award at the age of 20.

  • Lalla Meryem SAR Competition: She rose to fame after winning the First Grand Prix in this competition.

International Career and Ties to the French Riviera

Although she is currently Artist-in-Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and has performed at major European events such as the Verbier Festival in 2024, audiences on the French Riviera have had the privilege of getting to know her well. Indeed, Nour Ayadi is a regular at the Nocturnes du Piano, a festival where she performs very frequently, having forged a special bond with the local audience over the years.

Discography

Nour Ayadi has an impressive discography that has been warmly praised by critics:

  • Debut album (2020): Featuring works by Robert and Clara Schumann, as well as Igor Stravinsky.

  • Second album (2024): Title Carnaval, this recording was praised by the music press, receiving, notably, 5 stars from Classica magazine and the famous three “T”s (TTT) from Télérama.

Biography

Nour Ayadi

Philippe Bianconi

Philippe Bianconi: Embers Beneath the Ivory

From Italy, he takes his name and the passion buried deep within him, the passion that makes him vibrate when he is on stage. The passion that moves his audience. Italy sings within him in the colors of his familiar language, of his Mediterranean exuberance, which bathed his childhood. But it was in Nice that Philippe Bianconi was born and raised, and it was France that shaped him. From then on, the artist and the man became one, blending a combination of calmness and ardent passion, discretion and inner fire, adorned with the elegance and luminosity that can be seen in his presence and his gaze, and which can be savored when he is at the piano.

As a young man, he rose rapidly through the ranks, propelled into international competitions by Pierre Cochereau as soon as he left the Nice Conservatory. His trajectory was set from the day he entered the class of Simone Delbert-Février, a student of Marguerite Long and Robert Casadesus. "Sing!" "Listen!" He still hears these commands from this refined, vibrant woman, animated by an inner fire, and he repeats them to the students he trains at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. Along the way, he met Gaby Casadesus: with her, he refined the purity of his style and the clarity of his musical expression, cultivated since the beginning of his apprenticeship. With Russian pianist Vitalij Margulis, he found the density of sound that is unique to him and drew from the folds of the text and the depths of the harmonies an expressiveness that always serves the meaning. A double coup! First Prize at the Robert Casadesus Competition in Cleveland, then Second Prize at the Van Cliburn Competition, he triumphed at Carnegie Hall, launching his American career... Then came Europe, France, and the world, in recital or with today's most eminent musicians. And still in the wake of the Casadesus couple, but also of Nadia Boulanger, he quite naturally succeeded Philippe Entremont as artistic director of the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau for five years.

At concerts, this vibration in the air, when silence fills the hall, is precious, liberating, and inspiring to him. He sometimes takes on the craziest challenges, such as playing both Brahms concertos in one evening. When he returns to his corner of paradise somewhere in the south between the sea and the mountains, he remembers his younger years, his parents taking him to the opera, and his early love of the voice, which has never left him. He remembers Hermann Prey, whom he met at the age of twenty-two, and Schubert, who brought them together on record and for eight years on stages around the world, at Wigmore Hall, La Scala, Munich, New York... Then his piano sings, breathes, becomes flesh and soul. And Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, but also his beloved French composers, Debussy and Ravel, in sublime abandon, reveal the treasures of their secrets to this musician-poet.