Hector Berlioz (1803-1869):

Beatrice and Benedict (1862)

It is fitting that Louis Hector Berlioz should open this concert of French music because, in many ways, he was the father of the Paris school of orchestral music. Indeed, his concept of the symphony orchestra influenced Liszt, Wagner, Mahler and Strauss, in addition to the succeeding generations of French composers. Unlike so many of his predecessors (and successors), he was not a child prodigy, nor even a gifted instrumentalist. In fact, since he couldn't play any instrument well, he did all his composing with pen and paper. Although this was considered at the time to be a great handicap, in his case it seems to have worked in his favor, for it allowed his true genius to express itself, freed from the constraints of the keyboard.

Beatrice and Benedict, one of his three operas, is based on Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing. A correspondingly light-hearted piece, the overture has fared rather better in the repertoire than the opera itself. It is vintage Berlioz, however, rich in melody and, except for the rather sombre middle section, refreshingly light in texture, as a good appetizer should be.

Jacques Ibert (1890-1962):

Flute Concerto in D Major (1934)

Allegro - Andante - Allegro scherzando

Irrepressible fun was a hallmark of Jacques Ibert's musical style, and the flute concerto is typical of his works. Technically, it is one of the most difficult flute concerti, but the virtuoso writing seems to be intended more to entertain than to dazzle.

Born in Paris, Ibert was quintessentially French and, like Saint-Saëns, was relatively conservative in his music, preferring to uphold the classical tradition in the face the many different "systems" of music prevalent during the twentieth century. There is a significant jazz element in his music, however. Always his music has a certain efficiency of sound, often employing just one instrument for part of a phrase instead of giving the whole phrase to several instruments.

After studying at the Conservatoire and then serving in the First World War, he was awarded the prestigious Prix de Rome and later he would spend much of his life in Rome as director of the Académie de France. He contributed music of almost every sort to the repertoire, including seven operas, seven ballets and even several film scores.

This concerto is one of his better known works and is quite a favorite among flutists. It was written for Marcel Moyse. The first movement allows the performer scope to really shine and introduces the audience to the possibilities of the instrument. The second movement, in contrast, gives full expression to the lyrical and sensuous capabilities of the flute. The last movement is a typically rambunctious, jazzy piece in which the orchestra comes to the fore a little and combines with the soloist to create a truly memorable vignette of "gay Paris".

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921):

Symphony No. 3 in C minor, op 78 ("Organ")

Adagio - Allegro moderato - Poco adagio

Allegro moderato - Presto - Allegro moderato - Maestoso - Più allegro - Molto allegro

Camille Saint-Saëns was one of the most prodigious of all child musicians. Among those who became composers, possibly only Amy Beach was more amazing. He could play tunes on the piano at two-and-a-half; before he was three he could read and write; he wrote his first piece at three; when he gave his piano debut at the relatively advanced age of ten, he offered, as an encore, to play any of Beethoven's thirty-two sonatas from memory - indeed, he always played from memory. Later, he entered the Paris Conservatoire where he studied organ and harmony. In 1858, he became the organist at the Madeleine, a post he held for 19 years, and was considered by many, including Franz Liszt, to be the greatest organist of his day.

Although not a prolific composer, he did write for a good variety of musical forms, including five piano concertos, three violin concertos, six symphonies (though only three were published in his lifetime), thirteen (!) operas and a cello concerto. Perhaps his best loved work is the Carnival of the Animals, a brilliantly witty entertainment including The Swan, a beautiful cello solo.

He was something of a "renaissance" man, dabbling in astronomy, archeology, poetry and playwriting. When a young composer, he was considered a revolutionary - but by his later years (he was one of the longest-lived composers), he was viewed as an archconservative. Like many other performers/composers, he had a difficult time getting his own music accepted, made harder perhaps because of his own unpopularity. When elected to the Institut, an honor coveted by Saint-Saëns, Massenet wrote to Saint-Saëns "the Institut has make a terrible mistake." Somewhat miffed, Saint-Saëns wrote back "I entirely agree with you".

Among composers, he admired Mozart the most (no great surprise there), as well as Berlioz (whom he befriended in his later years) and Liszt. For a time (changing his mind later) he was even a great advocate of Wagner. His music has been criticized as all technique with few original ideas and little emotional content. This is not entirely fair, though, as this symphony demonstrates, treating us to some quite sumptuous and imaginative writing.

The commonly used name, "Organ Symphony", is slightly misleading - it certainly isn't an organ concerto - the organ plays only in the second half of each movement. But the organ is used more in a supportive role, providing a rich, full bass to the beautiful slow part of the first movement and to the majestic conclusion to the second. Written in 1886, the same year as Carnival of the Animals, the third symphony was commissioned, and first performed, by the London Philharmonic. Saint-Saëns dedicated it to the memory of Liszt who died that year.

Strictly speaking, the symphony is in two movements, but in reality, it follows the standard symphonic form quite closely, if you consider that the "slow" movement (poco adagio) follows on directly from the first movement, itself introduced by the typically classical slow beginning (adagio). In the same way, the "final" movement (maestoso) follows on directly from the "scherzo" (allegro moderato).

The allegro of the first movement is based on a fast staccato figure which reappears in the finale. The second part, the debut of the organ, is quite breathtaking in its apparent simplicity - the voluptuous sounds of the strings above the sonority of the organ.

The "scherzo" is perhaps the most immediately memorable part of the score, with its heavy staccato string opening answered by the tympani. After the presto sections and a short accelerando passage, the organ enters triumphantly to begin the conclusion, a variation on the theme from the first movement.