Orchestre National de France

The Orchestre National de France returns to Dijon under the baton of Cristian Macelaru, its musical director, with three masterpieces: Claude Debussy's Images, Elsa Barraine's Symphony No. 2, and Johannes Brahms's diabolical Violin Concerto performed by the infallible bow of Julia Fischer!

Dedicated to his friend, the great violinist Joseph Joachim, Brahms's Concerto was intended to rival those of Beethoven and Mendelssohn. Giving free rein to his "gypsy" vein as well as to his own melodic inspiration, which shines through in the Adagio, Brahms raised his virtuosity so high that the conductor Hans von Bülow declared that the work had been written not for the violin, but against the violin! Despite the initial dismay it caused, with its electrifying Finale it has become one of the pillars of the repertoire. A refined and resilient pianist, the composer Elsa Barraine (1910-1999) unveils in her Symphony No. 2 an Allegro that is not devoid of gentle sarcasm, preceding a sombre 'Funeral March' and a Finale that transports the themes of the first movement into a lighter, more playful world. A masterpiece of Debussy's last work, the three Images radiate musical and visual density: the imaginary Spain of Iberia offers its languorous melodies and nocturnal mysteries, dissipated by dance. Upstream, Gigues borrows melodies from Scottish and French folklore to orchestrate the round dance of a melancholy Pierrot; downstream, Rondes de printemps weaves subtle variations on the melody of Nous n'irons plus au bois, recalling the joys of childhood.