Imagine music that sings without words; multiplying and unfurling like some endlessly blossoming tree. That’s the image that inspired Henri Dutilleux to write his beautiful Violjn Concerto, and tonight it’s the heart of a concert filled with fantasy and sonic wonder, whether Debussy’s shimmering dreamworld, or Ravel’s delirious vision of a world waltzing on the brink.
It’s music that could have been written for our French-born guest conductor Lionel Bringuier – an artist who’s been praised for the “subtlety of his musical imagery and the absolute mastery of his craft”. But dark emotions flow beneath the gorgeous surface of these French masterpieces, and with Akiko Suwanai as violin soloist in L’arbre des songes, expect this performance to tug at the heart as well as ravish the ears.
