Interview
Barbara Hannigan on her work with Henri Dutilleux Simon Rattle conducts Schumann and Dutilleux
Hopeful enthusiasm and flashes of disturbance and depression: the fusion of these contradictory states characterise Robert Schumann, not only as a man but also as a composer. They are also evident in both his “Rhenish” Symphony and the overture to the opera Genoveva which Simon Rattle conducts in this concert. Plus, soloist Barbara Hannigan sings Henri Dutilleux’s mystical, filigree song cycle Correspondances.
Probably no other German composer embodies the essence of musical Romanticism as perfectly as Robert Schumann. This is evident in his emotional, sometimes unstable character as much as in his works. Simon Rattle conducts two of these in this concert: the “Rhenish” Symphony and the Overture to Genoveva.
In a highly artistic distillation, Schumannʼs Third Symphony reflects the restless spirit of this age: a hopeful enthusiasm, but with repeated flashes of disturbance and depression. And the typical contemporary nostalgia for better times can also be found here in the archaic fourth movement, entitled “Feierlich” (solemn), which at the same time forms a contrast as a warmly lit oasis of tranquility in the shimmering sweep of the symphony.
Like Schumannʼs only opera Genoveva, the works of Henri Dutilleux also lead a shadowy existence in the music scene. Unjustly so, as shown by his Correspondances for soprano and orchestra, premiered in 2003 by the Berliner Philharmoniker under Sir Simon Rattle. The soloist in this work, which can boast of an almost Romantic sense of tonal colour, is the versatile Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan – long familiar on the stage of the Philharmonie as a specialist in contemporary music.
Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon Rattle
Barbara Hannigan
© 2013 Berlin Phil Media GmbH
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