Les Siècles et le Centenaire Debussy : le meilleur et le pire de la culture française

By Tristan Labouret, 29 January 2018

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“une éblouissante prestation”

Reviewed at Philharmonie de Paris: Grande salle Pierre Boulez, Paris on 28 January 2018

Boulez, Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna

Debussy, Nocturnes, L 91

Debussy, La Mer

Debussy, Première Suite d'orchestre: Cortège et Bacchanale (Conclusion)

Les Siècles

François-Xavier Roth, Conductor

Les Cris de Paris

Ensemble de gamelan sekar-wangi, Gamelan

François-Marie Drieux, Violin

Christof Loy’s understated Werther at the TCE

David Karlin, 22nd March

Massenet’s take on Goethe’s blockbuster novella of unrequited love and suicide is handled with great subtlety by Christof Loy and Marc Leroy-Calatayud. Benjamin Bernheim and Marina Viotti lead a starry vocal cast.

****1

Shimmering, disjointed: Poppe and Ligeti in Lucerne

Elodie Olson-Coons, 7th September

Les Siècles make their Lucerne Festival debut with a slightly uneven Poppe-Ligeti programme, at the heart of which Isabelle Faust nevertheless shines

***11

Mixed performances in Ligeti and Mozart from Les Siècles

David Truslove, 20th August

Three concertos and a symphony made for an unusual but generous programme, but Les Siècles illustrate that versatility can come with mixed blessings.

***11

A stunning Barbican debut by Les Siècles

Roy Westbrook, 20th June

Marking their 20th anniversary with a celebratory tour, Les Siècles perform French classics at the Barbican under their twinkle-toed founder, François-Xavier Roth.

*****

Paris 1913 brought to life by Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth

David Smythe, 16th August

Two works premiered in Paris in 1913 – Lili Boulanger's Faust et Hélène and Stravinsky The Rite of Spring – excite the Edinburgh International Festival audience... but spark no riots.

****1

An exotic banquet to savour from Les Siècles

Mark Pullinger, 16th August

It was truly magnifique to welcome French period instrument orchestra Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth to the BBC Proms for a highly perfumed programme of exotic sweetmeats.

*****

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Tristan Labouret

Musicologue diplômé du CNSMD de Paris, Tristan Labouret collabore avec de nombreux artistes et institutions musicales (Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, Orchestre national d'Île-de-France, Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier, festivals de musique de chambre de Deauville, Just Classik Festival…), menant des activités de médiation à destination de tous les publics. Ex-altiste toujours passionné par les répertoires chambristes et symphoniques, il occupe depuis 2018 le poste de rédacteur en chef de la partie francophone de Bachtrack.