Capucon plays Saint-Saens: French Liaisons at Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall

Watch young French conductor Lionel Bringuier and the return to Sydney of cellist Gautier Capuçon in a program of music by three great French composers.

The most notorious is Hector Berlioz, composer of the Symphonie fantastique. Weird, incredible, terrific or plain fantastic – however you translate the title, this rule-breaking symphony invites listeners into the tumultuous drug-induced dreams of a morbid lover. Its first listeners loved every minute. We still do today.

Henri Dutilleux – the grand old man of French music – belongs to the tradition of Debussy and Messiaen and his music shares their instinct for colour and originality of sound. In Métaboles the musical ideas literally metamorphose under the master’s hand as the mood shifts from ethereal to flamboyant.

We stay with flamboyance for Saint-Saëns’ first cello concerto, exquisitely crafted to show off the soloist’s virtuosity and style.

DUTILLEUX Métaboles
SAINT-SAËNS Cello Concerto No.1
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique