Orchestre de Paris / Klaus Mäkelä
Program
This evening, Klaus Mäkelä offers us a colourful orchestral anthology of Tchaikovsky's virtuoso and popular Piano Concerto No. 1, combining Russian passion with French refinement and Spanish fever.
'Gigues', 'Bolero', 'Rondes de Printemps' and 'Jota': this program is a hymn to dance! Manuel de Falla composed his Tricorne for the Ballets Russes settled in London in 1919. His use of characteristic Spanish rhythms and instrumental colours brings him closer to Debussy's Images pour orchestre and Ravel's Boléro, whose reptilian and haunting melody has become the very symbol of orchestral music.
With Khatia Buniatishvili at the keyboard, Tchaikovsky's Concerto, however absolute a standard it may seem to us today, proves to be deeply disturbing, with the music caught in a fascinating reverie. The piano transcribes the orchestra more than it responds to it, improvising, getting carried away, calming down... a power residing not in what is shown but rather in intensity.