For those who depict the French avant-garde
as a place of unceasing theorizing and the refutation of pleasure, Henri Dutilleux (Métaboles) is the antidote. Throughout this career, he stood
outside the overtly intellectualized world of Pierre Boulez’ compositions.
Though sometimes challenging, his compositions are almost unfailingly beauteous, with rich,
refined orchestration that beguiles the senses even as it regales the mind.
In tribute to this uniquely talented artist, the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Total Immersion will devote a day to his
work. It looks to be one of the contemporary highlights of the Barbican
Centre’s 2015/16 season.
Proceedings begin at 1:30pm in Cinema 2, with a screening of L’amour d’une femme.Directed by Jean Grémillon (During the Occupation trilogy), a sensitive fixture of the French Golden Age, its soundtrack boasts some of Dutilleux’ earliest pieces. It will be followed at 5pm by a chamber concert at Milton Court from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, with four pieces that span his career. Look out for the string quartet Ainsi la nuit, a remarkably graceful string quartet, and the flute-and-piano Sonatine.
After a free 6.30pm talk with Dr Caroline Potter in the Fountain Room, the day draws to a close with the BBC SO under conductor Pascal Rophé, ONPL music director and a world-class expert in modern French music. Dutilleux’s vibrant musical imagination was well-suited to the orchestra’s variety. The Symphony No. 1 was one of his earliest breakthroughs. Over the classical four movements, it plays fast and loose with a dazzling array of forms and musical ideas, never becoming obtuse even as it remains a modernist work. Then there is the dreamlike Tout un monde lontain, performed with cellist Alban Gerhardt, a Wigmore Hall perennial. After the heart-wrenching The Shadows of Time, based on Anne Frank’s fate, the day ends with the groundbreaking Métaboles itself, which explores the fluid transformation of musical ideas. As evenings go, this may well be transcendent.
Proceedings begin at 1:30pm in Cinema 2, with a screening of L’amour d’une femme.Directed by Jean Grémillon (During the Occupation trilogy), a sensitive fixture of the French Golden Age, its soundtrack boasts some of Dutilleux’ earliest pieces. It will be followed at 5pm by a chamber concert at Milton Court from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, with four pieces that span his career. Look out for the string quartet Ainsi la nuit, a remarkably graceful string quartet, and the flute-and-piano Sonatine.
After a free 6.30pm talk with Dr Caroline Potter in the Fountain Room, the day draws to a close with the BBC SO under conductor Pascal Rophé, ONPL music director and a world-class expert in modern French music. Dutilleux’s vibrant musical imagination was well-suited to the orchestra’s variety. The Symphony No. 1 was one of his earliest breakthroughs. Over the classical four movements, it plays fast and loose with a dazzling array of forms and musical ideas, never becoming obtuse even as it remains a modernist work. Then there is the dreamlike Tout un monde lontain, performed with cellist Alban Gerhardt, a Wigmore Hall perennial. After the heart-wrenching The Shadows of Time, based on Anne Frank’s fate, the day ends with the groundbreaking Métaboles itself, which explores the fluid transformation of musical ideas. As evenings go, this may well be transcendent.
| What | Total Immersion: Henri Dutilleux, Barbican Centre |
| Where | Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Barbican (underground) |
| When |
On 30 Apr 16, 1:30 PM – 10:30 PM |
| Price | £26-46 |
| Website | Click here to book via the BBC website |
