There’s a lot more to living in France than just enjoying
the food, wine and way of life. Roger Steptoe discovers
two new musical surprises that go a long way to prove the
French are pretty hot at music as well.
Virile and melodic with fleeting passionate
moments are descriptions that spring to
mind when first listening to this inspiring
French music. When we think of classical
music in England most of us are drawn to the
pastoralism of Vaughan Williams or the
sentimental pat-on-the-back complacency of
Elgar. And when thinking French, some of us
automatically think of the innovations of the
Impressionists and the remarkable output
of Debussy.
But not too many know that Camille Saint-
Saëns was around during the time of these
equally important three figures in the late 19th
and early 20th century. He
was the grand old man of
French music, very much
‘establishment’ and definitely
pro the music of his country’s
co-founding of the Societé
Nationale de Musique in
1877. This is music that
follows in more Germanic
footsteps coming from the
deliciously frothy
Mendelssohn to the more
seriously austere Brahms.
And, like them, Saint-Saëns
writes exceedingly well for
the piano, as shown to
maximum advantage in the
two piano concertos on the
first disc reviewed this month.
The French label, Calliope, has come up
with two recent CDs devoted to Saint-Saëns,
the first of which features the first two piano
concertos: he wrote five in all spanning his
career. Abdel Rahman El Bacha is the pianist,
noble in presence and agile in the typical
Mendelssohn-inspired passage work of the
1858 D major concerto, Saint-Saëns’ first
attempt at the genre. The second concerto
appeared 10 years later and shows a more
individual style. But always with one eye on
Liszt’s invasive influence on classical music
of the period, the new Hungarian style of
piano writing is shown at its best in the
flamboyant rhetoric in the grand opening of
the first movement. Mendelssohn creeps back
in with the delicious scherzo and the
sizzlingly dramatic third movement presto, in
safe hands with the Orchestre de Picardie
under Pascal Verrot in top form.
But think Saint-Saëns and, yes, the
immortal ‘Carnival of the Animals’ comes to
mind (remember the cello’s ever-gliding swan
and the double bass’s impression of a
lumbering elephant?). So where do the string
quartets fit in? The only two he composed are
later works – 1899 and 1918 respectively –
and show another
side of this sadly
undervalued
figure in French
music.
Superbly performed by the Quatuor
Joachim and recorded by Igor Kirkwood, this
disc is a definite must-have for any lover of
chamber music.
The CD’s blurb refers to “Elegant lines,
harmonious colours and beautiful harmonic
progressions”. All these come off the page
with graceful ease and fall into the second
splendid tribute from Calliope to one of
France’s most distinguished composers.
Piano concertos No. 1 & No. 2
Abdel Rahman El Bacha (piano), Orchestre de
Picardie, Pascal Verrot – conductor, Calliope
CAL 9393; www.calliope.tm.fr
The two quartets
Quatuor Joachim; Calliope CAL 9389
Distributed by Harmonia Mundi
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