Françaix: Symphony, Scuola di Ballo & Other Orchestral Music

Featuring

Thierry Fischer
Ulster Orchestra
Jean Françaix

Did you know?

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Composer's Artistic Vision

The eminent German musicologist Heinrich Strobel described Françaix's Concertino for Violin and Chamber Orchestra as "clear water, rushing from a spring with the grace and spontaneity of all that is natural."

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in Ulster Hall, Belfast, on September 15-16, 2001, with Simon Eadon as the recording engineer and Chris Hazell as the producer.

Composition History

Françaix's Symphony in G major, recorded here, was composed in 1953 in memory of Joseph Haydn for the Musical Arts Orchestra of La Jolla, California.

Compositional Technique

Françaix's "Sérénade" for small orchestra, composed in 1934, can be performed by as few as twelve instrumentalists or with a fuller string section.

Composer's Artistic Vision

In his "Ouverture anacréontique," Françaix aimed to portray an imaginary world without wars, where everything is well, quoting and paraphrasing dramatist Sacha Guitry.

Composition History

Françaix's first ballet, "Scuola di Ballo" (1933), was based on music by Boccherini and choreographed by Leonide Massine for Colonel de Basil's Ballets Russes company.