Orchestre Français des Jeunes

Written over a period of less than 20 years, between 1872 and 1887, the works performed by the Orchestre Français des Jeunes and the cellist Astrig Siranossian compose the portrait of a generation.

Drawn from her ballet Callirhoé, premiered in 1888 in Marseille, Cécile Chaminade’s Suite recounts the love of Alcméon for the enslaved princess Callirhoé, who dreams only of freedom. A Prelude, followed by a "Pas des écharpes", a Scherzettino and a "Pas des cymbales" proceed with an eloquence that recalls Saint-Saëns. From the author of  Le Cygne, we have the Concerto for cello (1875), whose three movements testify with supreme elegance to the composer’s passion for the vocal warmth of the cello, whose medium register is once again privileged. Crowning this programme, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony n° 4 (1878), associated with a meeting between the composer and the mysterious Nadejda von Meck, deploys a secret programme across its four movements (including the unforgettable Scherzo in pizzicati): the violence of  implacable fate and the illusory attempts to find liberation in resignation, the dream or melancholic cult of the past.

The Orchestre Français des Jeunes has come to Bourgogne-Franche-Comte. It will spend the summer at the Saline Royale d’Arc-et-Senans, then begin its winter residency at the Dijon Opera. This first concert will mark the debut of a multiyear collaboration that will also include educational, artistic and cultural programmes.

Musical director Michael Schønwandt
Orchestre Français des Jeunes
Cello Astrig Siranossian

^{With the patronage of the Crédit Agricole de Champagne-Bourgogne}

^{Photo © William Beaucardet}

Cécile Chaminade
"Callirhoé" ballet suite

Camille Saint-Saëns
Concerto n° 1 for cello in A minor

Piotr Ilitch Tchaïkovski
Symphony n° 4 in F minor, op. 36