Paris 1900: The Old and the New: Debussy, Ravel, Saint-Saëns, Satie

Featuring

Alain Planès
Alexandre Tharaud
Isabelle Faust
Marko Letonja
Ariane Jacob
Isabelle Moretti

Philippe Bernold
Bernarda Fink
Kent Nagano
Konstantin Wolff
Trung Sam
Éric Le Sage
Frank Braley
Brigitte Fassbaender
Cord Garben
Karin Küstner
Eugene Asti
Sophie Karthäuser
David Guerrier
Juliette Noureddine
Hélène Delavault
Yves Prin
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Ensemble Musique Oblique
Claude Debussy
Maurice Ravel
Ernest Chausson
Erik Satie
Reynaldo Hahn
Camille Saint-Saëns
George Gershwin
Kurt Weill
Max Bonnay
Francis Poulenc
André Messager

Did you know?

1/7

Historical Context

Paris, between the late 19th century and World War II, was a major cultural and musical center, sharing prestige with Vienna.

Historical Context

Parisian salons, hosted by figures like Comtesse Greffulhe and Princesse de Polignac, were crucial for promoting performers and commissioning new works, including Stravinsky's Renard and Satie's Socrate.

Critical Reception

Debussy rejected the label 'Impressionism' for his music, calling it a misused term, especially by art critics, and preferred to create 'realities' and 'mystery'.

Compositional Technique

Satie's Gnossienne no.3, from 1890, eliminates barlines and reflects the influence of exotic music heard at the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris.

Cultural Impact

Serge Pavlovich Diaghilev, a foremost impresario of the 20th century, founded the legendary Ballets Russes, which revolutionized ballet by fusing it with other arts.

Composition History

Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, considered the birth of musical Impressionism, was inspired by Stéphane Mallarmé's Symbolist poem of the same name.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Diaghilev, inventor of a new form of total art, collaborated with top artists like composers Debussy, Ravel, and Satie, and painters Picasso and Matisse.