Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony
Baritone Thomas Oliemans sings Frank Martin’s Sechs Monologe aus ‘Jedermann’
Pierre Bleuse conducts Lili Boulanger’s swan song and Saint-Saëns’ majestic Third Symphony; Thomas Oliemans is the soloist in Frank Martin’s dramatic song cycle.
With his ‘Organ Symphony,’ Saint-Saëns knew he had reached the boundaries of his orchestral abilities.
Concert programme
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Lili Boulanger
D'un matin de printemps
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Frank Martin
Sechs Monologe aus 'Jedermann'
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-- interval --
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Camille Saint-Saëns
Symphony No. 3, 'Organ Symphony'
Performers
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Pierre Bleuse
conductor
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Iveta Apkalna
organ
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Thomas Oliemans
baritone
About this concert
Stepping in for Antonio Pappano, the French conductor Pierre Bleuse makes his first appearance with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. He will conduct Lili Boulanger’s airy swan song D’un matin de printemps, Frank Martin’s dramatic song cycle Sechs Monologe aus ‘Jedermann’ and Camille Saint-Saëns’ ‘Organ Symphony’. Saint-Saëns realised he had reached the boundaries of his orchestral abilities in this work, saying, ‘I gave everything to it I was able to give. What I have here accomplished, I will never achieve again.’ And although the organ, played here by Iveta Apkalna, is not continually heard, it provides an amazingly effective addition to the orchestral sound in the slow movement and finale.
D’un matin de printemps is the last orchestral work Lili Boulanger wrote before she died in March 1918 at the age of twenty-four. Boulanger was aware that she would never again see the blossoms of spring. Yet far from tragic, this music is full of light, life, and hope. With Frank Martin, the acceptance of death only arrives at the end of his masterful song cycle; in it, the wealthy Jedermann (Everyman) is visited during a lavish banquet by Death. He suddenly discovers that there is no one and nothing he can rely on. However, by repenting and accepting his faith, he is ultimately redeemed.
Dates and tickets
About this concert
Stepping in for Antonio Pappano, the French conductor Pierre Bleuse makes his first appearance with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. He will conduct Lili Boulanger’s airy swan song D’un matin de printemps, Frank Martin’s dramatic song cycle Sechs Monologe aus ‘Jedermann’ and Camille Saint-Saëns’ ‘Organ Symphony’. Saint-Saëns realised he had reached the boundaries of his orchestral abilities in this work, saying, ‘I gave everything to it I was able to give. What I have here accomplished, I will never achieve again.’ And although the organ, played here by Iveta Apkalna, is not continually heard, it provides an amazingly effective addition to the orchestral sound in the slow movement and finale.
D’un matin de printemps is the last orchestral work Lili Boulanger wrote before she died in March 1918 at the age of twenty-four. Boulanger was aware that she would never again see the blossoms of spring. Yet far from tragic, this music is full of light, life, and hope. With Frank Martin, the acceptance of death only arrives at the end of his masterful song cycle; in it, the wealthy Jedermann (Everyman) is visited during a lavish banquet by Death. He suddenly discovers that there is no one and nothing he can rely on. However, by repenting and accepting his faith, he is ultimately redeemed.