Conductor, Frédéric Chaslin returns to the podium of the Romanian National Radio Orchestra today, November 29^th, 2024. The proposed program features pieces from the French classical repertoire, including Maurice Ravel's "Mother Goose Suite," Ernest Chausson's "Poème for Violin and Orchestra," Camille Saint-Saëns' "Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 28," and a piece by César Franck "Symphony in D minor".

The soloist of the evening is violinist Maria Marica.

"An Evening of French Music" is the title of the concert you will conduct this evening. Four oppositepieces from French music, each with its own particularities. In your opinion, how does each piece differ from the others?

They differ stylistically, of course. Each of these composers represents a different stage in the evolution of French music. I would say that Camille Saint-Saëns is the most academic. He was even criticized for his "academic" style, but his great talent, his genius, lay in the construction of beautiful melodies. This is why some of his compositions are performed all over the world. He wrote more than 1,000 works, so it's not a surprise that some of them are rather "academic" and not as interesting. The piece we are performing today is one of his most famous; of course, there are also "Samson and Dalila", the second piano concerto, "The Carnival of the Animals", and so on.

Another composer, almost contemporary with Saint-Saëns, quite "academic" as well, but who also found his own personal style, is César Franck. He is often considered a French composer, although he was born in Liège - so technically, he is Belgian. But we, the French have a tendency to incorporate composers into our culture - sometimes we even believe that George Enescu is French, because he lived and passed away in Paris. Franck was always interested in academic genres and forms - sonatas, symphonies, etc.He wrote only one symphony, which is a pity, as his music is extremely inspired. There was a tendency in France to write only one or two symphonies.

Chausson also wrote only one symphony, an amazing one. This composer is already a step closer to modernity, as he created his own style based on Wagner's style. Franck and Saint-Saëns stayed away from the Wagner style- in France, we have two schools: composers influenced by Wagner's style, such as Massenet and Chausson, and on the other side there are the ones who rejected Wagnerian methods. Saint-Saëns, for example, greatly admired Wagner, but he did not adopt his compositional style.

We could have ended the program with Debussy, as he was also Chausson's protégé and he was financially supported by Chausson at the beginning of his career. When we listen to certain passages from his Poème, we can already notice Debussy's style. But I believe Ravel was a good choice. Of course, it is often said that Ravel and Debussy wrote almost the same music, and each of them would tell the other, "He stole my music!". In my opinion, the big difference between Debussy and Ravel is that the former was heavily influenced by Wagner - for example, in "Pelléas et Mélisande", you can hear echoes from "Parsifal". However, Ravel was not at all interested in copying or being influenced by the Wagnerian music. Ravel was completely independent, he was more inspired by other styles - Chinese music, Spanish music... He really enjoyed drawing inspiration from such music. This is the interesting aspect of the program - we included the evolution of French music up to the mid-20th century.

What is your perspective on the collaboration with violinist Maria Marica, winner of the 2022 "George Enescu" International Competition?

We just met this morning, so I had no idea how she would interpret these pieces. However, she has such a great musical instinct that we quickly found a mutual understanding. We only had to make a few small adjustments, but I believe she has a wonderful sense for this type of music.

How would you describe your relationship with the Romanian National Radio Orchestra?

It is a relationship that develops regularly, which is a good thing- we have about one concert per season together. So, we are getting to know each other better and better.

Photo @bernard martinez