Music should always mean something. I adore creating picturesque effects with the music, and this helps me to bring a certain narrative quality to my interpretations.
– Maestro Stephane Deneve
When French conductor Stephane Deneve works with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra this weekend, he intends to evoke the sense of color and gesture that he feels music should express. This is especially true in two of the evening’s works, Ravel’s “La Valse,” and Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances.”
“I use a lot of comparisons in the rehearsal with the musicians, often with poetry and nature,” he said.
» What: Classical Concert Series: Ravel’s ‘La Valse’
» Venue: Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore
» Time: Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m.
» Venue: The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda
» Time: Saturday at 8 p.m.
» Tickets: $25 to $80
» Info: 1-877-BSO-1444; 410-783-8000, www.bsomusic.org
Deneve notes that there is a connection between “La Valse” (“The Waltz”) and “Symphonic Dances,” one that he loves and one that expresses, in his words “a certain ‘dance on the volcano’ feeling.”
Ravel’s piece was originally meant as a tribute to the Viennese waltz, but by the time he began to compose it, the horrors of World War I and other personal failures initiated a darker interpretation, a wilder depiction of a mid-19th century dance.
“I really see with the Ravel piece the announcement of the First World War, the end of the 19th century [and] a certain way to think of the world,” he continued.
“And there is something sinister and gloomy as well in the Rachmaninoff piece written at the start of the Second World War.”
Indeed, “Symphonic Dances” is representative of the composer’s struggle with self-expression after his exile from Russia in 1917.
On the other hand, Cesar Franck’s “Symphonic Variations” has been described by music theorist Donald Francis Tovey as “a finely and freely organized fantasia.”
Franck’s work, a subtly beautiful piece from the late Romantic period, highlights the talent of pianist Frank Braley.
Beginning his piano studies at the age of 4, Braley gave his first concert with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France six years later. Among his many awards and accomplishments, he received the grand prize in the 1991 Queen Elizabeth Competition of Belgium.
“Both Stephane Deneve and Frank Braley are exceptional French artists whose frequent collaborations have earned widespread acclaim,” said Paul Meecham, BSO president and chief executive officer.
