On March 8, 9 and 10, the Houston Symphony presents a delectable all-French program featuring mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and Debussy’s La mer. In this post, Grammy Award®-winning conductor Ludovic Morlot introduces listeners to this sumptuous repertoire. Get tickets and more information here.
Bach. Beethoven. Brahms. Classical concert life is often dominated by Teutonic geniuses, but throughout history, French composers have often challenged the Austro-German status quo with a special Gallic flair. On March 8, 9 and 10, the Houston Symphony celebrates this savoir faire with Debussy’s La mer. This all-French program features two ideal interpreters: conductor Ludovic Morlot and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham.
Since Ludovic Morlot made his Houston Symphony debut at Miller Outdoor Theater in 2007 with an unforgettable performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, the conductor has become the Seattle Symphony’s acclaimed music director, leading the orchestra in two Grammy Award®-winning recordings. Last season, Ludovic appeared with the Houston Symphony for another powerful performance of a Russian symphony, Prokofiev’s Fifth, but for these concerts, he focuses on the music of his native country.
A French Romantic
Born in Lyon, France, Ludovic shares a birthday with the first composer featured on the program: the iconoclastic Romantic Hector Berlioz. Active during the early-to-mid 19th century, Berlioz pushed the envelope of what people thought music could be, exploring new connections between music and literature in his wild, hyper-expressive scores. The program opens with his Overture to Béatrice et Bénédict, an opera based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, then features Les nuits d’été, an orchestral song cycle about love, loss and renewal.
Les nuits d’été will be sung by star mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, one of the great opera singers of our time. Though Susan grew up closer to Paris, Texas, than Paris, France (she went to high-school in Midland), she is renowned the world over for her interpretations of French music. In recognition of her services to French culture, the French government even named her a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2001.
Berlioz’ Les nuits d’été is one of her signature pieces. “I have been wanting to share music with Susan Graham for a long time,” Ludovic said. “I am most impressed by the beauty of her French diction, which is crucial for a great interpretation of Les nuits d’été and gives justice to the beautiful poetry of Théophile Gautier. The warmth of her voice is something I have always been naturally drawn to. It is a privilege to perform Berlioz with her in Houston.”
Striking Impressions
The second half of the program features a later generation of French innovators: the Impressionist composers Debussy and Roussel. Debussy’s La mer (French for “The Sea”) is one of the best-loved pieces of orchestral music and is widely regarded as the composer’s masterpiece. Eschewing the traditional patterns of Austro-German symphonies, Debussy instead focused on musical color and texture in this radical, free-form tone poem inspired by the sea. “For me, the form of Debussy’s La mer is one of the most innovative features of this masterpiece,” Ludovic said. “And, of course, its incredibly colorful orchestration.”
La mer is divided into three parts, each with suggestive titles like “Play of the Waves” and “Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea.” “As a performer, I feel it is helpful to recreate that imagery as strongly as possible so the audience can feel that connection with their own experience of that landscape,” Morlot explained.
Less well-known, but equally delightful is Roussel’s Suite from The Spider’s Feast, a fanciful ballet in which dancers depicted the nocturnal activities of insects in a moonlit garden. “Very much in the manner of Debussy, Roussel manages to evoke the world of insects in his music through his skills as an orchestrator,” Ludovic said. “For instance, for the episode of the mayfly he marries the timbres of celesta, harp and the dance of the solo violin in the most exquisite manner. His use of silence is also a wonderful feature that helps create that magical, nocturnal world.”
Chamber Music After Hours
In the true spirit of French bonhomie, for these performances the Houston Symphony presents free post-concert chamber music featuring Houston Symphony musicians. Patrons who choose to stay are invited to bring drinks into the hall and enjoy a relaxed atmosphere with open seating. Continuing the all-French theme, the chamber music selections include Dutilleux’s sophisticated masterpiece for oboe, harpsichord, percussion and double bass, Les Citations, and Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet and String Quartet. One of the
gems of the chamber music repertoire, Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro puts Houston Symphony Principal Flute Aralee Dorough in the spotlight. —Calvin Dotsey
See Debussy’s La mer March 8, 9 and 10. Visit houstonsymphony.org for tickets and more information.
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