MUSICAL FAIRY TALES


Musically, it was a mixed bag this week. I am hoping that «Le Nez» (The Nose) - a filmed satirical opera composed by DimitriShostakovich this afternoon will live up to expectations.  At least it should be fun. 


Soloists EIC - Auditorium du Louvre Friday 9th March
Friday Gianni and I went to hear 4 of the soloists from the Ensemble Intercontemporain. Pierre Bouliez founded the group in 1976. My Mother started following it  at once and pulled me in some ten years later. Not without difficulty I might add. It took me some 5 years or more to adjust my ear to contemporary music. When Mother died I discovered that I had my own tastes in modern and contemporary works and the years of discovery with her had paid off. 


Without knowing it, the concert on Friday evening was to set off memories. Béla Bartok and Olivier Messaien. Bartok can I suppose still be considered as modern. I knew the work «Contrasts» for piano, violin and clarinet (1938). I enjoyed listened to it again. Practically reposing. 


Olivier Messiaen «Quartet for the End of Time» is a complicated piece in 10 movements. It was presented for the first time in 1941. The angels crying out the end of time. Those who know Messiaen’s music will «hear» his birds singing and calling throughout the 50 minute concert. The clarinet solo is heart rending and beautiful at the same time. («Abyss of Birds»)

It was then that I remembered the Sunday morning concerts we went to. Especially for children. The audience was composed of parents and children - anything from 18 months to 10 years. The musicians told the story of the music we were to listen to. All modern and contemporary composers. Obviously we listened to birds. The concerts lasted about an hour. Not a sneeze, not a cough, not a restless child in the audience. Everyone was glued to the musician and listened to what he told us to hear. Coming out of the concerts was always instructive. Listening to the children recount what they had heard and many of them asking their parents if they could learn to play one of the instruments we had been «presented to».

As we left the Auditorium on Friday evening,  I looked around and wondered if there were any of those «children» who had been there tonight. 15? 18? or even 10 years of age? For me, those children’s concerts had been like musical fairy tales. 


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