Woodwind Forward!

June 16th 2024 at 11:00 – 13:00

Already in the first half of the 20th century, French composers and orchestras used to put the woodwinds in the foreground. It should define their style and the special French sound. Francis Poulenc was one of the most important representatives of this tradition, and his music focuses on multicolor and sensitive poetry.

“”After all the impressionistic mists, will not this simple and clear art [of Poulenc], so reminiscent of Scarlatti and Mozart, be the next phase of our music?”” of wind music prove true in any case. With his few wind works, he set standards that still have an impact today.

Poulenc’s compositional spheres are complemented by the music of Henri Tomasis, Jean Françaix and Charles Koechlin. Behind the seemingly naïve title of Tomasi’s rural concerto »Concert champêtre« lies a knowledgeable allusion to French rococo music mixed with the Corsican flair of Tomasi’s homeland.

Charles Koechlin’s Bassoon Sonata takes us back to the sounds of Impressionism. In the France of his time, Koechlin was considered an outsider and yet created an exceptional work that shows how delicate and at the same time wild and intoxicating the bassoon is. And how many magnificent nuances of sound the instrument, which usually stands in the background, carries within itself.

Jean Françaix’s trio in four movements shows the 82-year-old composer still at the height of his creative power: melodic invention, rhythmic wit, harmonic elasticity and an elegant instrumental writing form a particularly fortunate combination.

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