AN AMERICAN IN PARIS BY GERSHWIN. James Ehnes and Ludovic Morlot

Repertoire

Gunther Schuller: Symphony for Brass and Percussion (1950) 18′
Leonard Bernstein: Serenade for Violin and Orchestra (1954) 33′
John Adams: I Still Dance (2019) 8′
George Gershwin: An American in Paris (1928) 20’

ARTISTS

James Ehnes, violin
Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (OBC)

Programme

Focused entirely on North American musical production, the concert behinds with a piece written by John Adams, a trailblazer in contemporary minimalism. The piece “I still dance” demonstrates a dense orchestral work rich in fluctuations in which repetition coexists with surprise. This dialectic can be found again in a different language to that of the Serenade for solo violin that Bernstein completed in 1954. Composed for string orchestra, harp and percussion -in addition to the omnipresent solo violin, James Ehnes in this case- it was seen by its author as being close in spirit to Plato’s Symposium: “a series of declarations in which love is praised”, making each movement evolve based on the elements of the previous one. Also in the 1950s, Gunther Schuller wrote a symphony for brass and percussion, reminiscent of imposing landscapes. From a certain distance yet marking a compositional milestone -in the late 1920s- that they were all to have in common, An American in Paris by George Gershwin grasps the urban atmosphere of the city of light: its frenetic movements during the day, the aura of love that surrounds strollers in the evening, and the hubbub of jazz at night-time parties.