PROVENCE - It can be reached from Aix-en-Provence in the south, via long roads shaded by avenues of stunning trees, or heading north across the Luberon foothills, which are bisected by fearsome cliffs upon which medieval, gray stone villages perch precariously. Whatever road you take, the journey to the village of La Roque d'Antheron is breathtaking.

For 27 years now, hundreds of thousands of people have traveled the route to reach this tranquil village at the edge of which lies the large forested Parc du Chateau du Florans. And in the middle of that park under the open sky is an amphitheater equipped with a sophisticated acoustic shell, a lovely stage and a Steinway grand piano. For 27 years, from the end of July through mid-August, this part of Provence bustles with visitors to the piano festival, affectionately known as "La Roque," and leading pianists. A week ago marked the end of the 2007 festival, during which thousands of listeners at 70 concerts and recitals heard such superstars as Piotr Anderszewski and Arcadi Volodos, who are still awaited in Israel; the Brazilian Nelson Freire and the French Brigitte Engerer and Lang Lang and performers of ancient music such as harpsichordist Kenneth Weiss and the Concerto Koln Ensemble and a long list of top pianists and alongside them as equals, young and unknown musicians, among them the Israeli pianist, Iddo Bar-Shai.

"From a young age, it was my dream to organize concerts," said Rene Martin, the founder and director of the La Roque d'Antheron Festival, the producer of 1,200 other concerts around the world each year and an internationally powerful and influential figure in the world of musical performance and recordings. "I was born to a family of merchants, so until the age of 14, I didn't listen to music at all. Afterward, I started listening to rock only, then jazz and I even taught myself to play the drums and played with friends."