Interview: ROCO's Alecia Lawyer Talks NOT YOUR TYPICAL IMPRESSIONIST MUSIC at the MFAH

If there's one piece of trivia to know about Edgar Degas, it's that he loathed being considered an Impressionist.

Yes, the man arguably most associated with the movement, who spearheaded the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874 (which he considered a "realist" salon), hated the term, thought it implied a lackadaisical approach to art and, as he once said, "No art was ever less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and study of the great masters; of inspiration, spontaneity, temperament, I know nothing. Nothing in art should resemble an accident, even movement."

(To be fair, Degas did differ from many of his Impressionist contemporaries. He worked with a notably precision and attention to composition, and he wasn't a fan of landscapes, going so far as to call nature "insipid.")

Taking into account Degas' own dislike of the label, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra's founder and artistic director Alecia Lawyer decided to think outside the box for their gallery concert, NOT YOUR TYPICAL IMPRESSIONIST MUSIC, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, where the oboist will perform with pianist Makiko Hirata amidst the works featured in Degas: A New Vision.

"[It's] not ambience," says Lawyer, "but it will definitely be setting the tone for the exhibit in a great way."

Lawyer sought out different, unique pieces by Degas contemporaries, choosing André Caplet's Reverie, Émile Paladilhe's Concertante, and Stanislas Verroust's 3rd Solo de Concert, Op, 76. "[The pieces] seem to align almost too perfectly with the works that will be there," says Lawyer. And, not for nothing, she says they are some of her favorite oboe pieces.

"The cool thing about [Paladilhe's Concertante] is it's very, very short but it has so many colors in it," says Lawyer. "You get to show off everything you can do, but it's not in-your-face, crazy pyrotechnics."

Verroust's "very Italian" 3rd Solo de Concert, Op, 76, meanwhile, was written in the Bel Canto era, when musicians were free to "take off on their own in ornamentation." Lawyer says the result is "syrupy and romantic," and it can be "interpreted in a lot of ways, [which is] very different than a Mozart piece."

According to Lawyer, ROCO is always looking for unique ways to tie art together, but this particular program struck a special chord with her, as she was able to draw from her own time living in France, where she frequented the Musée d'Orsay. "This one is just really personal to me, and to my instrument and to the repertoire I have."

For that reason, Lawyer is excited to bring people this "different way to experience the art," but she does hope audience members will still appreciate it as a concert, and not just background music.

"I'm very narcissistic," jokes Lawyer, laughing. "[But] I do feel like it's a conversation, and it would be just as weird to be conversing and talking to someone and then have them not paying attention to you."

For folks who do pull up a stool and focus on these rarely heard French chamber works, Lawyer promises a "lovely afternoon."

NOT YOUR TYPICAL IMPRESSIONIST MUSIC will be performed four times at 3 and 4:30 p.m. January 7 and 8 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet. For information, call 713-639-7300 or visit mfah.org. The performance is free with admission to Degas: A New Vision.

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