Orchestre National de France

The Orchestre National de France returns to Dijon under the baton of Cristian Măcelaru, its musical director, with three masterpieces: Images by Claude Debussy, Elsa Barraine’s Symphony n°2, and the diabolical Concerto for violin by Johannes Brahms, performed by the infallible bow of Julia Fischer!

Dedicated to his friend, the great violinist Joseph Joachim, the Concerto by Brahms was composed to rival those of Beethoven and Mendelssohn. Giving free reign to its "Gypsy" feel as well as to its own melodic inspiration, which radiates throughout the Adagio, Brahms raised the level of virtuosity so high that the conductor Hans von Bülow declared that the work was not written for the violin, but against the violin! Despite the dread it inspired at its first, it has become, with its electrifying Finale, one of the pillars of the repertoire. A refined and resilient pianist, the composer Elsa Barraine (1910-1999) unveils in her Symphony n°2 an Allegro not without a certain light sarcasm, preceding a doleful "Marche funèbre" and a Finale that transports the themes of the first movement into a lighter and more playful world. Masterpiece of the late Debussy, the three Images radiate with dense musical and visual richness: the imaginary Spain of Iberia offers its languorous chants and nocturnal mysteries, dissipated by dance. The opening Gigues borrows from both Scottish folklore and French mélodie, orchestrated in the rondo with a melancholic Pierrot, and the final Rondes de printemps weaves subtle variations on the melody of "Nous n’irons plus au bois", harkening back to the joys of childhood.

Musical director Cristian Măcelaru
Orchestre National de France 
Violin Julia Fischer

^{Photo © Radio France / Christian Abramowitz}

Elsa Barraine
Symphony n°2

Johannes Brahms
Concerto for violin

Claude Debussy
Images