Oeuvre: Quatre Instants

Monodramas by Francis Poulenc, Kaija Saariaho and Jack Symonds feature in a triple bill on the themes of love, loss and absence. 

If only every orchestral concert were as thoughtfully programmed as the Saint Louis Symphony’s last Saturday. David Robertson led his orchestra in Debussy’s Printemps, an ingratiating early work; the Carnegie Hall premiere of Quatre Instants by Kaija Saariaho with the irrepressible soprano Karita Mattila; and the full-length version of Stravinsky’s Firebird.