Beautiful and Melancholic Moonlight
The music of Claude Debussy is often called musical impressionism, compared to impressionistic painting. In his music, Debussy placed less emphasis on fixed forms and clear contours but more on color, atmosphere and suggestion. Debussy: "I would most like to see music emerge that is free from themes and motifs, a music that is never interrupted and never returns to itself."
In 1890 Debussy began the Suite bergamasque for piano, consisting of four movements: Prélude, Menuet, Clair de lune and Passepied. The famous third movement, Clair de lune, was later orchestrated by André Caplet, a composer with whom Debussy frequently collaborated. The title refers to a poem by Paul Verlaine that inspired Debussy. The name bergamasque refers to beautiful dancing masked figures from the Italian theatrical tradition, an image that Verlaine incorporated into his poem.
Clair de lune evokes a dreamy, mysterious atmosphere. Debussy avoids clear rhythms, traditional harmonic rules and pronounced climaxes. The tonality remains unclear, so as listeners we continually find ourselves in a floating sound world. Yet at the end there is a clear cadence, a conclusion, as if Debussy adds one final brushstroke to his musical painting.
Norwegian Soul
Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto (opus 16) is one of the most famous concertos in the repertoire, with its celebrated and spectacular opening: a brief timpani roll, immediately followed by a crash of sound from the orchestra and then the piano with a cascade of chords. As in a circus; an introduction by the timpani, then the 'piano tiger' jumping through the flaming hoop. Yet this concerto is not about outward display. It is a combination of lyrical depth and virtuosic challenge. The piano constantly interacts with the orchestra, presents themes, but also continually responds to the orchestra, fills in, embellishes and deepens. It sometimes sounds improvised, with here and there a Norwegian local color through motifs related to folk melodies. A reviewer wrote at the premiere in 1869: "all of Norway in its infinite variety and unity." The second movement forms the resting point of the work. The strings play out a sustained theme: a serene, simple melody full of blissful tranquility, after which the piano enters with intimate and beautiful lyrical playing.
In the finale the atmosphere changes again: the rhythm is borrowed from the Norwegian halling, an energetic folk dance. Sometimes soloist and orchestra even seem to move against each other, giving the music extra momentum. But Grieg also interrupts that impetuosity with a quiet, almost dreamy moment, before the concerto culminates in a broad and brilliant finale.
Youthful Freshness
George Bizet is best known for his opera Carmen. But he wrote his first symphony 20 years earlier, as a boy of 17 in 1855. From the age of 10 he attended the conservatory in Paris. Charles Gounod commissioned this symphony from Bizet as a study project. It was not at all Bizet's intention to publish the work. Only in 1933 was his symphony rediscovered and from that point on it was performed on concert stages.
The influence of his teacher Charles Gounod is audible, but what you notice most as a listener is the tremendous freshness of the piece. This is not a heavy, solemn symphony. Bizet writes for a relatively light orchestra and uses that orchestra in a clear way: plenty of movement in the strings, plenty of color in the woodwinds and brass that mark the form. The structure of Movement I is easy to follow: a 1st theme, light and dancing, and a lyrical second theme, beautifully played by the oboe. Then a section in which these two themes are cheerfully varied and developed. The movement is concluded by an almost literal repetition of the opening section, the reprise. The oboe has a leading role in Movement II with a melancholic melody. The strings, with their pizzicato accompaniment, provide airy forward motion to the music. The 3rd movement has, as was customary then, a dance-like character. And then the 4th movement bursts forth with rapidly playing, almost rushing strings in an almost unbroken motion. The woodwinds play short signals and accents, creating a clear, sparkling orchestral sound. That is perhaps what is most fascinating about this symphony: the combination of youthful energy and great clarity.
