Pelléas et Mélisande
Darkness and Light in Music
Recently, in an article on Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, I suggested that the only other 20th-century French opera that will stand the test of time is Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande (1902), inspired by Maurice Maeterlink’s symbolist play from … Read More
French Music for the Stage
Theatrical Froth
After the flood of new releases of French chamber music recordings over the last couple of months, it comes as a refreshing change to have a new album of French orchestral music to review. The veteran Estonian conductor Neeme Järvi … Read More
Dialogues des Carmélites
An Unlikely Masterpiece
It is always an intriguing exercise to try to guess which operatic works written in this or the last century will stand the test of time. In the French repertoire, an opera like Olivier Messiaen’s sprawling Saint François d’Assise (1983), … Read More
Un Matin de Printemps
A Trio of Spring Treats
Could it be due to lockdown that so many recordings of French chamber music have been released recently? It is certainly easier and safer to bring a few musicians together, rather than a larger ensemble, especially if all the players … Read More
Gustavo Dudamel
New Maestro for the Paris Opera
In a major coup for the Opéra National de Paris, the Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel was unveiled (almost literally, given the fact that he had to remove a face mask before speaking) this week to the press at the Palais … Read More
French Music by British Artists
Sounds Across the Channel
Poignantly, just as Britain is cutting its ties – and opportunities – with mainland Europe, a number of recordings of French classical music performed by British artists have just been released. British musicians have particular reason to regret the terrible … Read More
Proust, le Concert Retrouvé
A Musical Evening with Marcel Proust
The writer Marcel Proust put on a private concert at the Paris Ritz on July 1, 1907 for a select group of friends and leading lights of Parisian high society. The evening appears to have been not only a musical … Read More
Orchestre National de France
Pre-Atonal Music from Webern & Berg
Many regular concert-goers will have been suffering from the lack of live music-making in Paris and throughout the world during the pandemic. On the classical music scene, while opera lovers have been able to enjoy various streamed events, new orchestral … Read More
Hilary Hahn: Paris
Paris Revisited in Music
The moment music label Deutsche Grammophon announced a new album by violinist Hilary Hahn entitled Paris, I leapt at the chance to bring it to the attention of Paris Update’s readers. Don’t expect to hear a medley of string arrangements … Read More
Saint-Saëns: Sonates & Trio
Quintessentially French Chamber Music
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) is a quintessentially Parisian composer. Born in the city, he went on to study at the Paris Conservatory before eventually becoming the organist at the glorious La Madeleine Church. Despite being a keen traveler, he lived in … Read More