ConcertPulse
Philharmonic Chamber Music Recital
Elbphilharmonie, Kleiner Saal (Hamburg)
Back in the first half of the 20th century, it was already popular for French composers and orchestras to place woodwinds at the forefront of the action. It was thought to be evocative and characteristic of the special French style and sounds. Francis Poulenc was one of the most important proponents of this tradition; his music is focused around polychromy and a sensitive poetic voice. »After all the mists of impressionism, wouldn’t this simple and clear art [of Poulenc], renewing the tradition of Scarlatti and Mozart, represent the next phase of our music?« Darius Milhaud’s musings about Poulenc’s future and work were certainly to prove prophetic in the field of wind music. He went on to set standards, even with the few works for wind instruments he wrote, that continue to have an impact to this day. Complementing Poulenc’s compositional spheres is the music of Henri Tomasi, Jean Françaix and Charles Koechlin. Behind the seemingly naïve title of Tomasi’s rural concerto »Concert champêtre« lies a knowledgeable allusion to the music of the French Rococo, all mixed together with the Corsican flair of Tomasi’s homeland. It is then back to the sounds of Impressionism with Charles Koechlin’s Bassoon Sonata. Koechlin was considered an outsider in France at the time it was written, but he managed to create an exceptional work that shows off just how delicate and at the same time wild and intoxicating the bassoon can be. And how many splendid nuances of sound this instrument – usually resigned to the background – is capable of producing. Jean Françaix’s Trio in Four Movements reveals how the 82-year-old composer remains at the height of his creative powers: melodic inventiveness, rhythmic wit, harmonic elasticity and an elegant instrumental movement enter here into a particularly happy union.
