Les Siècles
NN | direction
Bertrand Chamayou | piano
Grégoire Pont | Illustration and live animation (Ma Mère l’Oye)
An early twentieth-century programme of rediscovered works and “hits” in close collaboration with Bertrand Chamayou.
Massenet Piano Concerto
Chabrier España, Joyeuse marche
Ravel Ma Mère l’Oye, Valses nobles et sentimentales
Ravel, Massenet and Chabrier played on period instruments is a billing which would have slotted comfortably into Gabriel Astruc’s early seasons at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. A century later, Ravel has earned his stripes as one of the most frequently performed composers in the world, but the important legacy of Chabrier and Massenet is more rarely championed by modern orchestras. Les Siècles are very familiar with them; as well as having a deep love of early twentieth-century French music, the avenue Montaigne orchestra in residence likes to rediscover and blow the dust off forgotten gems of repertoire. Massenet’s Concerto for Piano will sparkle under the fingers of Bertrand Chamayou, a regular collaborator with Les Siècles, and the Marche Joyeuse and España by Chabrier will chime beautifully with the dazzling colours of the orchestra’s period instruments. The better-known Valses nobles et sentimentales by Ravel will act as a prelude in the second half to Ma Mère l’Oye, a suite for orchestra with an unusual performer: the pencil of Grégoire Pont, who will illustrate Ravel’s masterpiece in real time.
Coproduction Théâtre des Champs-Elysées | Les Siècles