French night at the LA Phil

(Lionel Bringuier and the LA Phil. Photo: me)

It's been too long since I posted one of these pictures. And by extension, too long since I've gone to a classical concert and the LA Phil. Thursday night's program was a great program to come back with: Four pieces by French composers, conducted by a French conductor. Lionel Bringuier was the last minute replacement conductor for previously announced maestro Stephane Deneve, who had to cancel this week due to the birth of this first born child (a happy reason to cancel, delivered to the audience through note stuffed into the program). In any case, it all sounded pretty good tonight with Bringuier on the podium.

The program began with Maurice Ravel's Le tombeau de Couperin, continued with Francis Poulenc's Double Piano Concerto (with Frank Baley and Eric Le Sage as the dueling piano soloists) and Albert Roussel's Symphony No. 3, then concluded with Ravel's La Valse. The Poulenc and Roussel were both new to me, but I really liked hearing them. There was lots of color and flourish to both, and they both played out with a grand, cinematic soundscape (both were composed in the early 20th century). I was familiar with both Ravel pieces, though only via recording for Tombeau; it was great to hear Tombeau live, since it has so many details in the orchestral coloring. Plus, having it played it in such an acoustically vibrant space was really wonderful.

I've heard many performances of La Valse, and it never fails to rouse me. Last time I heard it though, I was only 10 rows away from the stage and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach blew the piece's massive sound straight at me - it was thrilling. On Thursday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall, I was sitting in a more removed seat, so the sound was not quite as all-enveloping. Not that the performance was inferior, I just have the memory of bathing in that spectacular sound from the summer. Nevertheless, La Valse was an energetic, masterful finish to Thursday's concert.