Joining the “equity and diversity” movement at a rapid and rapid pace has prompted symphonic institutions to renew their repertoire without precedent for decades. Wouldn’t it be good, too, to remember some works, heritage or pleasure, forgotten during these same decades?
Any logically constituted being would have found it obvious that, in a quite usual way, and this, for a very long time, each symphonic program, or almost, includes in principle a work to discover. Not necessarily a contemporary creation, but a composition forgotten or not programmed for moons by such and such an institution.
Phonographic publishing, and in particular the recorded repertoire unveiled by independent publishers (CPO, Bis, Hyperion, etc.) for 40 years thanks to the compact disc, clearly shows that the musical source is inexhaustible.
Moreover, reconnecting going out to the concert with the pleasure of discovery would have been a motivation preventing musical life from going in circles and, perhaps, the public from getting bored and escaping to other entertainments.
The forces of immobility
The logic of rediscovery hardly goes hand in hand with the business musical”. Such a soloist only plays such and such a concerto during the season, and the conductors make as much money out of their repertoire as their rehearsal time, jumping from one plane to another and offering the same symphonies here and there.
Since mid-2020, institutions suddenly want to claim to be “representative of society”. The movement brought scores of African-American composers, female composers or Aboriginal creators to the programs in large numbers that we had hardly ever heard of. Very good. But do we hear works of equal quality to those of which, for decades, we have been deprived by convenience, laziness or ignorance?
While Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Florence Price, Clara Schumann, Louise Farrenc and William Grant Still, so long despised, are becoming the new heroes of classical music, should we not feel a little embarrassed about certain scores in the heart of the great repertoire of western classical music?
Here are 10 easy-to-program masterpieces or amenity scores that we can’t remember hearing in 40 years of going to concert halls (or maybe once, for some).
We have, for this very arbitrary list, which could contain ten other equally relevant ones, drawn from renowned composers and not from the “pointy” yet so easy to appreciate, such as The great Wall of China by Einar Englund, the concerto grosso by Eino Tamberg, the Suite Alentejana by Luis de Freitas Branco, Schlemihl by Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek, the Mediterranean diptych of Vincent d’Indy or the Symphony noh 2 of Casella, etc.
On-demand listening platforms now allow everyone to judge, which will never be equivalent to the “shock in love” that one can feel in a concert hall.
Ten works to revalorize
The cursed hunterCesar Franck
Here is a 15-minute symphonic poem composed in 1883. Who says symphonic poem (The sorcerer’s apprentice of Dukas is one) says narration, therefore a musical subject easy to follow. At the sound of the horn, a hunter goes into the forest. There is a ride, then demons chase him. The musical realization is perfect, the work, spectacular. The cursed hunter would wisely replace the famous Carnaval romain or Tombeau de Couperin at the start of the concert. To listen to: Charles Munch, Alain Altinoglu and François Xavier Roth.
The Wood Pigeon (Holoubek)Antonin Dvorak
Here is our “heart” work by Dvořák, a symphonic poem also known as The Dove, The Wild Dove or The Wood Dove. There too, it is a story. A woman buries her husband whom she poisoned to live with her lover. The dances of the nuptial scene follow the funeral. Then the drama unfolds when a dove that appears regularly on the grave comes to instil such remorse that the woman will kill herself. The dove is obviously the image of consciousness. In 20 minutes, Dvořák concentrates his melodic (symphonies), dramatic (operas), folkloric (Slavic dances) talent. Holoubek is a victim of the rigidity of the framework of the concerts (overture-concerto-symphony), its duration (20 minutes) does not fit with the “ritual”. To listen to: Charles Mackerras, Claus Peter Flor, Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
norwegian rhapsodyEdouard Lalo
Perfect opening of a “French” concert. No one thinks of Lalo in general anymore. Admittedly, this musical fantasy is not an essential work (but did Still, Farrenc, Price and Coleridge-Taylor ever do better than the presto of the Norwegian Rhapsody?), but it does lead to a reflection on the offers concerts in the post-pandemic phase. Some audiences are reluctant to go out at night, and orchestras have largely abandoned “just fun” weekend programs. The Norwegian Rhapsody has everything to please in this context. To listen to: Jean Martinon, Paul Paray.
Symphonic Dances, Op. 64Edvard Grieg
We’re not going to claim that Grieg’s Symphonic Dances are worth Rachmaninoff’s, but there’s no reason to over-program some and ignore others. Rachmaninoff depicts his anxieties, Grieg deploys a kaleidoscope of folk melodies from his Norway. With such permanent wonder, it is surprising that this work, in four parts, half an hour, is so little known. To listen to: Bjarte Engeset, Neeme Järvi, Neville Marriner.
AubadeFrancis Poulenc
The virtual absence of Francis Poulenc from concert halls is mind-blowing: whether it is the Piano Concerto, Les biches or Aubade, this irresistible “choreographic concerto for piano and 18 instruments”. Aubade in eight movements has a rare asset: that of keeping young and old, novices and confirmed music lovers in suspense. To listen to: Éric Le Sage and Stéphane Denève.
Symphony No. 2, “The Four Temperaments”Carl Nielsen
Archetype of the stupid sclerosis of habits. One day, it was decided by “the trade” that “the” Nielsen symphony was the Fourth. However, the Second is much easier to access, with an angry allegro, a phlegmatic waltz, a melancholy andante and a sanguine allegro. Not only is it easier to catch Nielsen’s 2nd than Brahms’ 2nd, but the melancholic andante is one of the most beautiful slow movements in the repertoire! Listen: Blomstedt (Decca).
Symphony No. 2, “The Four Temperaments”Carl Nielsen
A more difficult work, but a major part of the history of music: the creation born of the trauma of the Great War (1919). It is the greatest French symphony of the 20th century, a link between Mahler and Shostakovich, but “à la française”. To listen to: Jean Martinon, Stéphane Denève.
AmarusLeoš Janáček
No one knows this cantata (1897) with its haunting and bewitching melodic beauty. Amarus tells the bitter story of a monk, an abandoned child, raised in solitude, living in solitude and who finally dies without having known maternal love or marital love. Janáček, a loner for a long time, projects himself with tenderness into this score which is much more than an “anecdote” in his catalogue. Listen: Vaclav Neumann.
PartitaWilliam Walton
Same remark as for Lalo and Poulenc: it is all Walton that is missing in the programs. We are talking here about the 1st and 2nd Symphonies, Belshazzar’s Feast and the Partita, a work created by George Szell in 1958. It is, once again, a brilliant and easy-to-follow work: a toccata, a sicilian, a jig, nourished by a luxuriant orchestration. Listen: George Szell. In the same spirit, just as effective and just as ignored: the Turandot Suite by Ferruccio Busoni (1905).
Medea’s Dance and RevengeSamuel Barber
It could have been the School of Scandal opening by the same Barber. The object of the selection? American music, fabulous and never played. Someone explain to us why and for whom we are playing what we are playing at the moment, and why we are not hearing Danse et vengeance de Médée. Good luck. Listen: Charles Munch.