The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra confirmed their commitment to curating music for generations to come with two premieres by the French composer, Guillaume Connesson.
A warm glow descended the Concertgebouw as Ravel’s neglected overture, Shéhérazade de féerie (not to be confused with his later song cycle of the same name for soprano and orchestra) filled the hall. With Mäkelä at the helm, the RCO musicians positively radiated. He gives them time to breathe and to express their innate virtuosity; all in a spirit of togetherness. Most importantly, he understands the acoustics of the Concertgebouw like no other. Everything excites and the very furniture vibrates as the percussion and brass unleashed their terror.
The programme
The oboe concerto
Russian oboist, Ivan Podyomov gave the first premiere of the evening, Guillaume Connesson’s Oboe Concerto Les belles heures (The Beautiful Hours). Music without tricks. No multiphonics or extended techniques as so often found in modern concertos. Instead, a study in the oboe’s distinct colours which the French composer believes are sometimes overlooked.
Murmuring violins set the scene. L’Heure bleue had awoken. Podymomov’s beautiful, sweet melodious tone contrasted with moments of intense delicacy as fragments fluttered here and there.
© Eduardus Lee
Viewed by many as an heir to Debussy and Ravel, Connesson’s language is fundamentally tonal but does not always follow the accepted norms. The dreamy slow movement L’Heure exquise, is a perfect example. Phrases resolve, just not quite as expected. Strange sliding second violins tried to shatter the tranquillity of intensely intimate moments, but not for long. Effortless beauty reigned and all was immensely controlled.
A distinctly jazzy L’Heure fugitive, complete with high-hat rhythms and temple blocks, vividly depicted Connesson’s carpe diem. The RCO and Podyomov were grooving with the best! A lyrical second theme with cello countermelody gave a lyrical respite. This was French quirkiness meets the American Wild West. A highly entertaining and attractive work.
Podymomov’s encore, his own arrangement of Alexander Scriabin’s Impromptu, op. 14, nr. 2 touched the soul. Not a dry eye in the house. What a majestic ambassador he is for this largely neglected solo instrument.
The flute concerto
After the interval, principal flute, Emily Beynon gave the European premiere of Connesson’s Second Flute Concerto, a work she had premiered last month with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and conductor Gemma New.
© Eduardus Lee
Danses concertantes is a seven movement work and is completely different in character to his first, Pour sortir au jour, inspired by the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. The second, written for a much smaller orchestra, is also very different to the oboe concerto as the flute relentlessly flies around its upper regions creating a feeling ‘of being on the edge of your seat!’
The Thème: Lent transported us to a realm far from the chaos and madness of the opening; one of sublime tranquillity with the most ‘tuneful’ melody of the evening thus far. Vif et léger demonstrated not only Beynon’s virtuosity, but her complete command of the hall. Cheeky clarinets and horns underpinned by swooning violin melodies and jaunty rhythms in the Tango macabre brought a smile. Sultry sounds of southern France in the 2éme Variation: Lent gave the most emotional moment of the work.
Bravo to the RCO for their commitment to contemporary composers, giving voice to two concertos by the same composer, back to back. Bravo also, for giving key orchestral members such an amazing platform.
Danses concertantes is a co-commission by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, the Tapiola Sinfonietta in Finland and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. You can hear it again in Paris on September 10th, 2025, this time with Vincent Lucas playing the flute along with Mäkelä and the Orchestre de Paris.
Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin
The night finished with Bartók’s ballet score The Miraculous Mandarin. Full of suffocating sexual tension, the score depicts a barbaric story of loneliness, alienation and a love which can both redeem and destroy. Mäkelä unleashed a harsh brutality full of swirling energy, mixed with playing of such precision that the only option was to sit back and marvel at the degree of musicianship on display.
Special mention should go to principal clarinet Oliver Patey whose exotic characterisation of the Mandarin was utterly convincing. And so to young trombonist and Academy member, Tomas Ferreira who has grown in confidence his year.
With Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony next week, Amsterdam audiences are totally spoilt.
Further listening
Fun facts
Beynon and Podyomov both play on rather fine instruments. They explained more in interview with Preludium.nl
‘I have a French instrument by Marigaux through the Foundation Concertgebouworkest . Most professionals play it, its projection in the hall is very good. I made the bell myself. The challenge for me in a large group in a large hall is: how do I make a big tone? I looked for that space in the sound and at the same time wanted to retain the intimate quality and the richness of the oboe sound. In this way I have adjusted more small things to make the instrument fit my playing even better, which mainly has to do with intonation. Warm and colourful are the key words for this three-year-old Marigaux.’
Podyomov | Preludium.nl
‘I think my instrument is beautiful. Look, a 14-carat gold Haynes flute, American. Haynes started building in 1888, making the company as old as the Concertgebouw Orchestra. As a student I always dreamed: later I want to play on a gold instrument, but I never liked them, so I played on silver. Not so long ago there was a turning point. I had suddenly found my voice on this Haynes, a brilliant sound. The change is big, this flute is two hundred grams heavier than my previous silver one. This instrument invites me to open doors, it encourages me.’
Beynon | Preludium.nl
Member of the RCO Academy 2024 – 2025
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This concert was reviewed in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam on Wednesday 16th April, 2025
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