2023-12-31 12:37:09
► Anton Bruckner (1824-1896), symphonic stature
Relatively little known to the general music-loving public, the Austrian composer, author of symphonies of gigantic proportions, has long impressed instrumentalists and listeners with the ambition, majesty and breadth of his writing, where we detect obvious Wagnerian traces .
A secret personality, reputed to be sullen and disinclined to worldly courtesies, deeply possessed by his religious faith, Bruckner conceived his art as an architect building a monument to the glory of the Most High to which he also offered a remarkable corpus of vocal pieces. His eleven symphonies, requiring a large orchestral force, are striking for the richness of their harmony, the power of their inspiration and, sometimes rich, their imagination which is both romantic and innovative.
► Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), elegance and emotion
Gabriel Fauré, whose Requiem figures prominently in the repertoire of most professional and amateur choirs, illustrates the career of a musician born in the mid-19th century but who also experienced the aesthetic daring of the first decades of the 20th. You only have to listen to his marvelous melodies for voice and piano to measure how far you have come… Preferring the intimate eloquence of small forms to large symphonic deployments, Fauré managed to combine the refined elegance that we attribute to French music with an emotional intensity that is never mawkish but infinitely touching. A great seducer, teacher, talented organist, the musician remains one of the most complete and singular in the repertoire.
► Darius Milhaud (1892-1974), the joy of influences
Although (too) absent from the concert programs, Darius Milhaud, native of Aix-en-Provence, will perhaps emerge from purgatory in the “favor” of the fiftieth anniversary of his death. Secretary of Paul Claudel when the writer was ambassador to Brazil, member of the Group of Six (with Georges Auric (1899-1983), Louis Durey (1888-1979), Arthur Honegger (1892-1955), Francis Poulenc (1899-1963 ) and Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983)), the unclassifiable Milhaud knew how to disconcert as much as seduce with the variety of his writing: here borrowings from Brazilian traditions or jazz, there more daring experiments, shaking up the rules of harmony . Famous for The Ox on the Roof or the Provençal suite, Milhaud was also the author of numerous operas, much neglected by the theaters. Here again, will the year 2024 correct this oversight?
► Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), lyrical passion
Here, conversely, is one of the most celebrated composers in the world. After his compatriot Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini is the most famous Italian composer, in his country and well beyond. La Bohème, Tosca, Madame Butterfly,Turandot (which remained unfinished at his death) delight lovers of passionate singing and scintillating orchestration, serving emotion and the most ardent feelings.
Her heroines, often doomed to a tragic destiny, are both victims and strong women, toys of men and sublime figures. Fascinated by progress, lovers of beautiful cars, unrepentant Don Juan, Puccini enjoyed success as far as the United States where he created in 1910, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the first operatic western, The Maiden of the Westunder the direction of Arturo Toscanini.
► Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951), the revolution in music
A symbol of modernity, the one who, with Alban Berg and Anton Webern, revolutionized 20th century music, still remains inaccessible or forbidding for many music lovers. Will the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of his birth allow his work to be disseminated more widely among those it frightens? Before this historic break with centuries of tonal music, before the use of the twelve-tone system, there was a post-romantic Schönberg, heir to Brahms whom he deeply admired.
In a Vienna torn between conservatism and avant-garde – in the musical but also pictorial or literary fields – the author of Moses and Aaron et Lunar Pierrot, who was also a painter of powerful inspiration, saw the rise of perils. Of Jewish origin, he, like so many others, had to leave Europe to settle permanently in the United States.
► Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884), l’amour du pays
But homelands (My Country). The title speaks for itself, like the profession of faith of a composer who has become the standard bearer of his country, Czechia. Author of patriotic music, reviving the heroic or more everyday history of Bohemia, Bedřich Smetana was above all a melodist of incredible talent, as proven by his extremely famous Moldauone of the six symphonic poems composing But homelands.
He put it at the service of the opera, where the arias and the large choral scenes were intended to charm and convince an audience eager to hear the celebration of a land gradually liberated from the Austrian yoke. Nowadays, its delicious and laughing Bride sold, an opera created in 1866, was legitimately popular with the public. Even if Smetana’s fortune still largely needs to be consolidated outside of Prague’s concert halls.
And also : The American composer Charles Ives (1874-1954), the Venetian Luigi Nono (1924-1990), the American Henry Mancini (1924-1994)…
#birthdays #celebrate