Cultural Kiosk at UN Geneva & CERN

Focused on contemporary creation, our opening program begins in a very poetic way with Ciel d’hiver by the great Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho who died in 2023 which perfectly sums up the captivating atmosphere of her style, with its colorful orchestration and its ability to describe the scale and awe of nature.
Attracted by the visual arts and literature which nourish and enrich his creative process, the Swiss Beat Furrer writes dense and rich music, exploring sound worlds that are constantly questioned. After a First Piano Concerto exploring the resonances and harmonic spectra of the instrument, Beat Furrer continues the experience with this Piano Concerto No. 2 presented as a world premiere.
A pioneer in his time, Hector Berlioz composed Harold in Italy by superimposing his own memories of travels to Italy with the inspiration of the novel Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage that Lord Byron wrote during his stay in Geneva.

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Mowed down by a merciless illness at the age of 24, Lili Boulanger remains one of the most promising talents in French music. D’un matin de printemps had a triple genesis for various instruments before the orchestral version presented here. It is a lively dance, quite Debussy-like in its harmonies but also demonstrating astonishing audacity.
It was in Clarens, where it was composed, that Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major was performed for the very first time, in 1878, during a private concert in a version for violin and piano with the composer at the keyboard and his friend Iosif Kotek on the violin.
Officially premiered in Vienna three years later, it was to quickly become a pillar of the violinists’ repertoire. Written according to its author “to glorify the human soul”, Symphony No. 5, Op. 100 is one of Sergei Prokofiev’s most popular works. From start to finish, there reigns a great breath of youth and romantic exaltation.

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Wherever he goes, harpsichordist and conductor Ton Koopman puts into practice the playing styles and articulations specific to the 18th century, whatever the instruments used. This is what he will not fail to do at the head of the OCL with this program entirely devoted to Mozart.

Still a young boy and already recognized, the latter had crossed our country in 1766, playing, in particular, in Lausanne and Geneva. Here he is again in majesty with a selection of works from his maturity. Written for the castrato Rauzzini but sung today by a soprano, Exsultate jubilate is a motet of great virtuosity whose vocal writing is close to opera. The concert aria Voi avete un cor fedele is intended to be inserted into an opera buffa by Galuppi to give more relief to the prima donna as was often done at the time. As for Symphony No. 38, it is a sumptuous gift from Mozart to the people of Prague to thank them for having received and loved him so well.

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‘Come on, Pastiche! Do you think there’s an orchestra asleep in the Victoria Hall too?’

‘Miaw… I’m not sure, dear Léna, that this orchestra is completely asleep! Can you hear it?… it’s blowing hard outside. Just like at home, in Heurtebise! Miaaaw… do you remember?… all that adventure… ah, that little rat, I would have made my lunch out of him!’

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Extremely rare in concert, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3 in D major, the least played of the six, is a transitional work in the spirit of a suite in 5 movements offering very different characters: Russian style, fantastic visions, elegiac feeling, fairy-tale scherzo and polonaise rhythm in its last movement, which sometimes earns it the apocryphal subtitle of ‘Polonaise’.

Devoid of any virtuosity, the Concerto No. 27 in B flat major puts a melancholy end to the splendid series of piano concertos initiated by Mozart in his childhood. With its smile between tears and resignation (subtle modulations from major to minor) and its sinuous melodies accompanying the soloist on the oboe and flute, it is one of the most poignant works left by Mozart. A moving filial dialogue, Modlitwa is a short choral piece for a string ensemble.

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With his Symphony No. 2 in D major, Beethoven salutes the birth of the 19th century in a way, taking leave of his master Haydn while learning his lesson. Called a “rough-hewn monster” by an outdated critic, it opens up a new world of sound that still shakes us.

With the Concerto pour la main gauche, Maurice Ravel, a great admirer of Richard Strauss, leaves a strongly expressionist black diamond, accompanied by an incredible tour de force. If you close your eyes, you will have the impression of hearing the pianist’s ten fingers and even more!

The power of the Straussian orchestra bursts forth in Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration), a symphonic poem born in the exalted imagination of a brilliant 24-year-old composer without any personal or literary references, with “the only desire to write a piece that begins in C minor and ends in C major,” he would later say jokingly.

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‘Hey, Antoine, how many more sleeps before Christmas?’

‘Well… hmmm… 80 musicians, minus 3 trombones, divided by 11 strings plus a conductor, multiplied by 2 oboes plus 8 milk chocolates gives us… 24! All you have to do to wait is open the 24 doors of your symphony calendar and get ready for the festive season!’

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Composed by György Kurtag in memory of his singer friend Stephan Stein, Grabstein is a short and moving elegy written in 1989 based on earlier sketches. It is a kind of chorale centered on a few guitar notes scattered in instrumental groups distributed in the four corners of the room.

The deserved popularity of the Violin Concerto No. 1 has overshadowed almost all of Max Bruch’s other works. Its gypsy accents, the beauty of its themes and its brilliant orchestration always win approval.

If the complicated genesis of Mozart’s Requiem is well known, it remains difficult to separate Mozart’s intentions from those of his pupil Süssmayr who hardly produced any significant works. Our only certainty is that we are in the presence of a timeless masterpiece of exceptional spiritual scope.

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The Haffner family was very influential in Salzburg. It was thanks to these wealthy merchants that the young Mozart had been able to travel around Europe with his father. This beautiful and highly developed Serenade No. 7 in D major was commissioned for the wedding of the son of this great patron in 1776. Conceived in 8 movements, it gives pride of place to the solo violin, giving it the opportunity to display all its virtuosity.

Created on the same evening as the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies (lucky Viennese!), Beethoven’s Concerto No. 4 in G major never ceases to amaze us with its originality, its freedom of tone and the boldness of its themes alternating gentleness and violence in a typically Beethovenian duality.

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The confusion between the Strausses of Vienna and those of Munich is unfounded and their rapprochement will only last for the duration of our New Year’s concert. A famous encore of the traditional Viennese concert, An der schönen blauen Donau (The Blue Danube) by Johann Strauss Jr. will open ours, preceding a second part reserved for the two Waltz Suites that Richard Strauss took from his opera Der Rosenkavalier. Composed after the completion of Salome’s Dance of the Seven Veils is a sort of potpourri of the opera’s main themes in an oriental atmosphere, ending in a frenetic and sensual manner.

The Concerto No. 3 in C major has travelled all the continents since its author, Serge Prokofiev, came to play it with our orchestra in 1923 under the direction of Ernest Ansermet. It has even become one’s new hobbyhorse of the piano repertoire.

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“Hey, Maestro, how about taking us to see a little exhibition?”

“With pleasure! But with me, there’s no routine—only O-RI-GI-NA-LI-TY! By combining experience and youth to form an orchestra, we’ll treat ourselves to fresh music inspired by a legendary painting, then be dazzled by brand-new illustrations created especially for the occasion, based on a more-than-century-old symphonic masterpiece.”

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With its procession of love, the supernatural and the pact with the devil, the old myth of Faust, revived in Germany by Goethe and Lenau, had what it took to seduce the Romantics. Liszt seized on it several times, notably in this Mephisto-Valse in which the devil takes his violin to carry Faust away in a frenzied dance.

A curious mixture of Basque elements mixed with jazz, serene classicism and disheveled music, Ravel’s Concerto in G major won the support of pianists and the fervour of the public from its creation without ever experiencing an eclipse. Tchaikovsky speaks in the first person in his Symphony No. 4 in F minor which expresses his doubts, his unhappiness and his revolt better than literature could since music expresses itself beyond words. It is a tormented work evoking the irrevocable part of destiny that awaits every human being, this fatum so omnipresent in the Russian soul.

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A wind of optimism blows over this evening’s programme. A great traveller and a cultured man, Mendelssohn had stopped for a long time in Italy, dazzled by the light and the landscapes as well as by the works of art that he saw everywhere. His Symphony No. 4, ‘Italian’, describes his wonder with all the force and vivacity of his youth.

Brief and conceived in a single movement, Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1 unleashes itself in an irresistible whirlwind, attacking the instrument’s range in a constant dialogue with the orchestra. Romantic and lyrical, it ends in a brilliant A major synonymous with faith in life.

After the evocation of the hero, in the Napoleonic sense of the term, and before that of his own destiny, Beethoven grants himself a more serene break with his Symphony No. 4 in B flat major with a cheerful, if not frankly “unbuttoned” (Beethoven’s word) climate which in no way excludes rhythmic and formal innovations.

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The Hebrides Overture (or Fingal’s Cave) is a kind of miracle of melodic invention and subtle evocation of nature that vibrates everywhere. As is often the case, Mendelssohn seems touched by grace in this sensitive evocation that stirs the soul. We find this almost Shakespearean climate at the beginning of the Concerto for violin and orchestra that the Genevan composer Frank Martin wrote just after his Cinq Chants d’Ariel (Five Songs of Ariel) based on The Tempest by the English playwright. The entire atmosphere of the work seems to be imbued with this magical climate “as if I had remained somewhat bewitched by the charms of Prospero’s island,” wrote Frank Martin.

Beethoven also idolized Shakespeare, whose complete works he possessed and whom he often quoted in his conversations. The power of the word of one has often been compared to the musical strength of the other, and Symphony No. 5 in C minor is one of the most striking illustrations. Pom, pom pom, pom….

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 ‘Mozart, are you asleep?’

‘Oh no… never! There’s far too much beautiful music yet to be invented! Just time for a little break, to offer you a sample of my art, which is as brilliant as ever. Symphonies, concertos, operas – I bet my melodies will be your favourites for a long time to come!’

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It was incomprehension and failure that greeted Debussy’s Images for orchestra when they were first performed on 20 February 1910 (Iberia), 2 March of the same year (Rondes de printemps under the direction of the composer) and 26 January 1913 (Gigues). Only Maurice Ravel was “embraced to tears” while the young Ernest Ansermet had attentively followed Debussy’s rehearsals at the podium and spent an entire afternoon with the composer. Rarely given in full concert, the Images are colourful paintings of the soul at the same time as they describe a fantasized Spain, ending with an orchestral study of great refinement. Without having become popular, they are at the pinnacle of French music of the early 20th century.

Gone are the days when the Geneva press treated Concerto No. 2 in B flat major as a “great cadaver”. Brahms has long been adored by the public, who constantly ask for more.

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Jacques Ibert and Arthur Honegger were very close, to the point of writing a four-hand opera together: L’Aiglon, based on the drama by Edmond Rostand. Their friendship did not, however, obscure their difference in style. Both coming from the French school, they followed very different paths. The symphonic triptych Escales describes a voyage in the Mediterranean that had a strong influence on Ibert. He brought back these three picturesque and refined pieces. Deeply affected by the Second World War, Honegger felt the need to compose music “against the tide of barbarity, stupidity and suffering”. His ‘Liturgique’ Symphony is a cry of distress as well as a powerful and moving appeal for peace between peoples. Gone are the days when the Geneva press called Concerto No. 2 in B flat major a “great cadaver”. Brahms has long been adored by the public, who constantly ask for it.

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The return of our former musical director takes on a special significance with the hearing of Johannes Brahms’ German Requiem. This powerful work is rarely on the programme of our concerts and will be with the participation of two of today’s greatest voices. Brahms composed his longest choral work following two emotional shocks, the death of his mother and that of his friend Robert Schumann. Long matured, this Requiem does not follow the Catholic liturgy, it finds its origin in texts carefully chosen by Brahms in the German translation of the Bible.

No room for the dark threats of the Last Judgement in this peaceful score which on the contrary brings words of consolation to reassure the living. The message is addressed to all believers whatever their confession. A work of transition, it represents a decisive step between the composer’s youth and the style of his full maturity.

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This program, typical of the OSR’s DNA, begins with Les Quatre Éléments (The Four Elements) composed by Frank Martin in 1963 on the occasion of the 80th birthday of its founder Ernest Ansermet. The evocation of natural phenomena gave the Genevan composer the opportunity to express both his love of nature and his admiration for the indomitable energy of the conductor who had been the creator of a large part of his works at the podium of our orchestra.

Composed in 1830, Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is a musical gem that features enchanting melodies and remarkable piano technique. It is considered one of Chopin’s masterpieces.

Claude Debussy’s La Mer was the first disc recorded by the OSR for the Decca company. It was to be followed by three other versions as sound recording techniques progressed, each time winning great critical success.

The brilliant and wild second suite of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé has long been one’s hobbyhorse of our concerts with its fantastic final bacchanal which always produces a great effect thanks to its incantatory power and its dazzling orchestration.

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 ‘Are you giving me flowers, Charlie?’

‘Blue ones or pink ones? Mmmmm… they smell so good! Can you imagine if they didn’t have any colour? or worse, if we couldn’t see them? The world would be so sad… I love our walks in the spring, in the streets, in the parks, under big trees, marveling at the city lights…’ 

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Created in 2015 in Paris by our guest Antoine Tamestit, the Viola Concerto by the German composer Jörg Widmann is very demanding since it asks the soloist to be an actor, dancer, conductor, and incidentally, to play the viola! Placed in the middle of the orchestra at the beginning of the piece, he fights against the community represented by the musicians. It’s up to you to discover how his perilous adventure will end…

Reducing fourteen hours of music into just over an hour is another challenge taken up by conductor Lorin Maazel with his arrangement without vocals of Richard Wagner’s Ring. The challenge was to string together the musical excerpts by giving them a sound coherence without juxtaposing a series of pieces. Listening to the Tetralogy like a great symphonic poem, forgetting the singing and the stage without drowning in the Rhine, is the crazy bet taken up this evening by Daniel Harding.

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