CYPRUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
DOUCE FRANCE
Lefkosia: Thursday 8 April 2021
Pallas Theatre, Pafos Gate, 20:30
Pafos: Friday 9 April 2021
Markideio Municipal Theatre, 20:30
In this concert, the CySO will perform French music from different periods as well as music with a French influence, beginning with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony no. 31 in D major, the famous ‘Paris’ Symphony. Written during a stay of Mozart in Paris in 1778, the composer availed himself of the orchestral forces available at the time in Paris, and was his first symphony to include clarinets, an instrument that has since become particularly associated with France.
Although Swiss by nationality, Arthur Honegger spent a large part of his working life in France and was a member of ‘Les Six’, the name given to the group of composers who worked in the Montparnasse area of Paris and were particularly championed by Jean Cocteau in the 1920s. Honegger’s ‘Pastorale d’été’ dates from 1921, when it was premiered at Salle Gaveau, and is a mellow symphonic poem for smaller orchestra inspired by summertime in the villages of the Swiss Alps; the score is prefaced with a quote from Rimbaud: ‘J’ai embrassé l’aube d’été’ (I embrased the summer dawn).
The main work on the programme is Charles Gounod’s Symphony no.1. Though most known for his operatic and religious music, Gounod was also an influential mentor to the younger generation of French composers of the second half of the 19thth century including Saint-Saëns, Massenet, and Bizet. His 1st Symphony from 1855 shows the influence of the German classical symphonic tradition, particularly Mendelssohn and Beethoven on this quintessentially French composer.
In addition to the ‘French’ works on the programme, we continue our highlighting of the musicians of the CySO as soloists with our clarinettist Angelos Angelides featuring in Carl Maria von Weber’s Concertino for clarinet.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony no. 31, K. 297 (Paris)
Arthur Honegger: Pastorale d'été (Summer pastoral), H. 31
Carl Maria von Weber: Concertino for clarinet in E flat major, op. 26
Charles Gounod: Symphony no.1 in D major
Soloist: Angelos Angelides (clarinet)
Conductor: Patrick Gallois
With the support of the French Institute of Cyprus
Within the framework of Francophone season
Supporter: Pafos Municipality
Ticket prices: €12, €7 (18-26 yrs, pensioners), €5 (under 18)
Ticket presales:
· Οnline at cyso.interticket.com
· For the concert in Lefkosia, tickets are also available at the Pallas Theatre Box Office every Wednesday 16:00-19:00.
· Τickets will not be available at the theatre box offices on the concert day.
Pallas Theatre, Pafos Gate (Rigainis and Arsinois corner, 1010 Lefkosia, 22 410181)
Markideio Municipal Theatre (Andrea Geroudi 27, 8010 Pafos, 26 22228)
ANGELOS ANGELIDES
Angelos was born in Lefkosia in 1976. He joined the Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra in 1988 (then Cyprus Youth State Orchestra). He studied clarinet with Cosmas Papadopoulos and Musicology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
He was the first clarinetist to play with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra (then Cyprus State Orchestra) in 1992, the first to give a clarinet recital in Cyprus (2000), the first professionally trained Cypriot clarinettist (2000) and the only native Cypriot in the CySO wind section (2003).
He teaches clarinet at the Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra Academy. He has given more than 10 solo recitals, had his solo debut with the CySO in 2014 and he enjoys a vibrant career in chamber music. He is a MARCA Reeds Artist.
PATRICK GALLOIS
Patrick Gallois belongs to the generation of French musicians leading highly successful international careers as both soloist and conductor. At the age of seventeen he studied the flute with Jean-Pierre Rampal at the Paris Conservatoire and became solo flutist in Lille National Orchestra.
At the age of twenty-one he was appointed as principal flutist in the Orchestre National de France, under Lorin Maazel. He then began a seven-year career playing and recording under the direction of many well-known conductors, including Pierre Boulez and Seiji Ozawa. During this period, he studied with Leonard Bernstein and Sergiu Celibidache. In 1984, he decided to focus on a solo career which has taken him throughout the world, beginning in Japan, where he toured and sold 100,000 CDs of the Mozart flute concerto in one year. This success led to an exclusive contract with Deustch Grammophon Gesellshaft for which he recorded ten records.
His career took a new dimension as a conductor and he signed an exclusive contract with Naxos. He has a wide repertoire both as a conductor and a flutist, with a strong taste for contemporary music. Many new works have been dedicated to him. Married to the Finnish painter Tiina OSARA; they work regularly together, mixing symphonies of Franck, Bruckner
or Strauss on “action painting” but also both of them improvising on stage. Patrick Gallois was Artistic Director of the Sinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä for 9 years.
He has recorded over 40 CDs for Naxos, including 25 on which he conducted the early symphonies of Haydn, Mauricio Kagel and Peteris Vasks. The first CD of ballet music from Massenet with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra appeared recently, also Mozart’s piano concertos with Idil Biret and the London Mozart Players and now he is recording with the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael Haydn’s symphonies.
PROGRAMME NOTES
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791): Symphony no. 31, K. 297 (“Paris”)
The spring of 1788 found the 22-year-old Mozart in Paris, in search of job prospects that would ensure his presence in one of Europe’s greatest cultural centres. It did not take long before commissions for new works knocked at his door, including one for a new symphony. It was more than three years since Mozart had composed his last symphony, and he evidently approached this new effort with much excitement.
Showing a remarkable ability to adapt to his audience, he grasped the essence of the Parisian taste and opted for a three-movement symphony, dropping the Minuet & Trio movement that was customary in the Austro-German symphonic tradition. The resulting three-movement symphony is indeed one of the most vibrant scores in the symphonic repertory. Its opening movement presents itself as one of the grandest, most thrilling sounds Mozart ever made from an orchestra. Not only the Paris symphony utilises the largest orchestra Mozart had assembled in a symphonic context, but it also constitutes the moment where the Austrian prodigy used clarinets for the first time in his scores, having heard the new instrument for the first time in Mannheim, on a tour right before coming to Paris.
Knowing Mozart’s famed liking for humour, it is of no surprise that the 1st movement opens with a “premier Coup d’ archet”, the striking of the bow in unison in all the strings cherished so much by the French. And the finale is no less an eyebrow-raiser than the opening movement. The superb fugato in the central section of the movement – that must have astounded the French audience at the time – showcases a brilliantly worked melodic imitation between the voices.
Arthur Honegger (1892–1955): Pastorale d'été (Summer pastoral), H. 31
Though Honegger is considered a member of the ‘Les Six’, his musical temperament and personality embraced rather discrete elements, quite different from the language of other distinctive members such as Darius Milhaud and Francis Poulenc. The Pastorale d'été particularly can be isolated by its tender, relaxed and lyrical character. Similar to many of the composer’s works, this symphonic poem is inspired by extra-musical sources. An inscription at the beginning of the score (“J'ai embrassé l'aube d'été” [I have embraced the summer dawn]) describes poetically how Honegger might have felt on one August morning in 1920 when he put pen to paper to capture a musical image of the resort village of Wengen in the Swiss Alps.
The work, which has been described as a “latter-day Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune” (Debussy’s famous symphonic poem) is atmospheric, marked by its serene and restrained character, depicting a typical summer early morning in the Swiss Alps. It opens with a dreamy soaring theme on the horn, passed on to the strings moments later. The instrumentation only enhances the pastoral nature of the theme and the tranquil mood in the work’s opening and closing sections. Eventually, the activity picks up announcing the more vivid and colourful middle section that carries a bouncy, somewhat dance-like tune. As the energy of the middle section is fading away, the opening music returns to take us for the final time to that beautiful alpine summer morning.
Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826): Concertino for clarinet in E flat major, op. 26
The Concertino’s conception and premier make up a rather intriguing story. Carl Maria von Weber dedicated the work to the clarinettist Heinrich Bärmann. The composer wrote it in just three days between March 29 and April 3, and the virtuoso clarinetist was ready for the premier three days later. The anticipated command performance, for which King Maximilian I of Bavaria purchased 50 tickets, took place on the evening of April 5. Τhis, however, should not cast any shadow over the work’s quality. Such was its success, that Weber received commissions for two extra compositions for the clarinet.
The Concertino, which remains to this day a highly popular choice for clarinetists, unfolds in one movement and follows the form of theme and variations. The piece begins with a slow introduction in C minor, paving the way for the work’s main theme in E-flat major. What follows is a spectacular sequence of variations, masterfully crafted to invoke a kaleidoscope of tempi, variegated melodies, and moods. The unique tone of the clarinet is at the centre of this marvellous musical game that
concludes with a con fuoco section, a sensation of blistering arpeggios and melodic runs.
Charles Gounod (1818–1893): Symphony no.1 in D major
Charles Gounod is probably best known for his ‘Ave Maria’, a divine melody superimposed over Johann Sebastian Bach’s C Major Prelude from the Well-Tempered Klavier, and the opera Faust, the work that actually made his reputation. But his Symphony no. 1 is no less impressive. Receiving its premier in February 1855, it achieved eight subsequent performances in Paris, quickly drawing attention to the unique musical merits of the aspiring French composer, who eventually came out to be a central figure in French music during the third quarter of the nineteenth century.
Ravel once stated that Gounod was the real founder of the mélodie in France. Already in his First Symphony, we trace brush strokes of the melodic finesse that would become one of his stylistic trademarks, leaving its imprint on late nineteenth-century French music. Gounod the melodist and brilliant orchestrator is at full force in this wonderful score, which became an inspiration for the seventeen-year-old Bizet, at the time a student of the older master.
The symphony follows the typical four-movement design and embraces the marvels of the symphonic style of its time. The first movement is as fast as energetic, followed by the Allegretto moderato that unfolds at a slower pace, hosting a notable contrast between beautifully moving melodic lines and a fugue-like polyphonic section reminiscent of a Bach fugue. The delightful third movement, a minuet and trio style par excellence leads the music to the forceful Finale (Allegro vivace). We are poised for a dynamic closure as fully energetic passages re-emerge continuously after brief calming interludes.
Dr. Vassilis Kallis
Cyprus Symphony Orchestra Foundation
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου