Reveries and Passions Part 2: Exotic Visions

The final orchestral programme of the Reveries and Passions festival -a three week series of French music organised by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen- featured three works of vastly different scale, connected by their respective fascinations with the exotic. Syrinx, Debussy’s brief meditation for solo flute, drew its inspiration from a Greek myth, while Ravel’s genial G major Piano Concerto added flourishes of American jazz to the composer’s customary ibericisms. Together, these two works formed a prelude to Messiaen’s mighty Turangalîla-symphonie, which employs birdsong and the otherworldly sound of the ondes Martenot to illuminate of the myth of Tristan and Yseult. In the course of the evening, all three pieces would receive performances of considerable inspiration. Although the concert would culminate in the…