V50

Sunday, 11 March 2012

5.00 pm, Concert in the Anhaltische Theater Dessau

„Closing Concert“ ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

Alexandre Tansmann: Quatre danses polonaises
Maurice Ravel, Pierre-Octave Ferroud, Jacques Ibert,
Alexis Roland-Manuel, Marcel Delannoy, Albert Roussel,
Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Georges Auric,
Florent Schmitt: L'Éventail de Jeanne
Kurt Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins

Conductor: Lukasz Borowicz
Singer: Ute Gfrerer
MDR Symphony Orchestra


This closing concert is a prime example of our Festival ethos: stunning performances of great works which are just as exciting as during Kurt Weill's day, while at the same time acknowledging the fabulous diversity of Europe's musical tradition. However, even a quick glance in the programme throws up something of a mystery: only three pieces and yet twelve composers? A discrepancy which can easily be attributed to „L'Éventail de Jeanne“, a work referring to the real-life Jeanne Dubost, a wealthy Parisian patron of the arts who in the 1920s financed a children's ballet school. In the spring of 1927 she had a clever idea: splitting a fan into its 10 individual leaves, she gave one each to a composer of her acquaintance with the request to write a short piece for the children of the ballet school. The dance pieces written by her friends were subsequently combined into a suite, first performed on 16 June 1927 at Madame Dubost's private salon.
At the keys that evening was none other than Maurice Ravel, who had transcribed the entire work for piano. He also supplied the opening fanfare to „L'Éventail de Jeanne“, while others contributing to the project were Milhaud (Weill's close friend) who composed a polka, as well as Poulenc and Roussel who wrote a pastorale and sarabande respectively. One after another these individual pieces came together until the finished suite contained a total of 10 movements. The work's public premiere was given on 4 March 1929 in Paris's Opera House.
The close bond between dance and music, already the focus of interest at the opening of the 20th Kurt Weill Festival, is of course celebrated in „L'Éventail de Jeanne“; however, the programme begins with „Quatre danses polonaises“ by the Polish-French composer Alexandre Tansman, and comes to a fitting close with Kurt Weill's „The Seven Deadly Sins“. It would probably offend most festival-goers if we wasted any words on this masterpiece. Suffice to say, the 2012 Festival opens with „Marie Galante“ and Ute Gfrerer – and will here close with „The Seven Deadly Sins“ and Ute Gfrerer. The „Hommage à Paris“ ends as it began: with a real highlight!


The Artist-in-Residence will be presented by LOTTO Sachsen-Anhalt.

With kind support of the
Stadtsparkasse Dessau