Hailed by the press as "Bernstein’s spiritual heir”, Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen explores masterpieces by Strauss and Beethoven at 2018 Evian’s Rencontres Musicales. A magnificent performance in a magical setting: the musicians present their concert in the “Grange au lac”, a one-of-a-kind wooden concert hall whose appeal matches that of the most elegant of Russian dachas, lit by splendid chandeliers in Bohemia and Murano crystal!
The masterful maestro begins with one of the aging Richard Strauss’s last works, composed at the ripe old age of 81. Metamorphoses: A Study for 23 Solo Strings resonates with the heart-rending memory of the World War II bombing of the Munich Opera House, the beloved musical monument of Strauss’s hometown. “Metamorphoses” could easily be seen as a representation of this long-lived composer’s time on earth: from his birth in 1864 and to his death in 1949, Strauss saw his homeland transformed by a succession of radical political regimes.
Beethoven’s "Eroica” Symphony follows, one of the genius composer’s most popular works. Originally dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte, Beethoven scrawled through the inscription when he learned that the Premier Consul had had himself declared emperor!
Photo: Esa-Pekka Salonen © Benjaming Suomela
