Classic Sunday – The Spirit of Surrealism

Music from 1920s Paris.

Event

Germaine Tailleferre: String Quartet (1919)
Francis Poulenc: Sextet ( 1931/32)
Igor Stravinskij: 3 Pieces for string quartet ( 1918)
Francis Poulenc:  Le bal masqué  (1932)

Matisse, Modigliani and Picasso used to exhibit in Paris’s Lyre de Palette, the same space used as a musical salon by the French composers known as ‘Les Six’. All six composers in the group  utilised highly different tonal languages, but presented themselves as a new unified movement in 1920s Paris. Germaine Tailleferre was the only woman in the group, and during their first concert in Montparnasse the sketches for her only string quartet were performed.

The musicians from the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra have hand-picked a selection of works by Les Six that in various ways channel the spirit of surrealism. In this company we can also find Stravinsky, whom the group tried in vain to recruit as a member – but who continued to be a common source of inspiration for them all.

The programme is organised in connection to the exhibition The Savage Eye.

Practitioners:

Cam Kjøll, violin
Benedikt Wiedman, violin
Rasmus Heggdal, violin
Witold Serafin, viola
Janusz Heine, cello
Frauke Oesmann, flute
João Miguel Silva, oboe
Petter Langfeldt Carlsen, clarinet
Jaran Stenvik, bassoon
Anne Marie Nordbø Pettersen, bassoon
Maksim Semenov, horn
Andreas Karlsen, trumpet
Geir Syrrist, percussion
Cesar Eduardo Canon Riveras, piano
Julie Yuqing Ye, piano
Magnus Ingemund Kjelstad, baritone

CLASSIC SUNDAY

Chamber music has been an important part of the history of MUNCH right from the start in 1963. We continue this tradition at Bjørvika through our collaborations with the Oslo Philharmonic and the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. Our Classic Sunday matinees present chamber music in many different formats, from the traditional classical canon to the cutting edge and experimental.