Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5

Idioma disponível: inglês

With this latest consignment of concertos by Saint-Saëns, the Malmö Orchestra directed by Marc Soustrot and with the pianist Romain Descharmes round off an adventure that began in 2013. The 1875 Fourth Concerto, charming enough on its own account, also appears to prefigure the Organ Symphony which was written ten years later, both in terms of the musical discourse but also the orchestral grip: it's recognisable from a mile off. Twenty years separate the Fourth from the Fifth, written in 1896 to celebrate fifty years since the composer made his 1846 Parisian début. The work's nickname – taken from its origin in the town of Luxor which Saint-Saëns visited during one of his frequent stays in Egypt, where he would take refuge from wintry Paris and enjoy the local attractions – is slightly misleading, as the concerto doesn't really have any particularly Middle Eastern or North African accents, but instead it is more marked by Spanish influences (well, Arabo-Andalusian, strictly speaking). Rather than being "Egyptian", the work is more of a rich tapestry of diverse cultural influences against a Pyramid-themed backcloth. The second movement offers a few zoological notes, closing to the sounds of croaking toads and chirping Nile crickets. © SM/Qobuz