Concert: Celtic Enchantment

Under the baton of Fiona Monbet, one of the most outstanding conductors of the new generation, the Orchestre de Chambre de Nouvelle-Aquitaine invites us on a journey to Celtic lands, as musically depicted by two famous Romantic composers, Mendelssohn and Berlioz.

Fiona Monbet is a violinist and conductor with an eclectic repertoire ranging from jazz to classical and contemporary music. At the helm of the Orchestre de Chambre de Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the Franco-Irish musician builds a bridge between her two countries by taking on Berlioz's collection of nine Irish Melodies, one of the first works by the composer of the Symphonie fantastique, which testifies to his fruitful assimilation of Celtic folklore. Fiona Monbet will conduct the new orchestration enriched with traditional themes proposed in 2017 by the young composer Arthur Lavandier. Antoinette Dennefeld, one of our most endearing French mezzo-sopranos, will return to these pages, which she premiered at the Berlioz Festival.

Inspired by a visit to Fingal's Grotto, nicknamed the musical cave, on the Isle of Staffa in Scotland, Mendelssohn's Overture to The Hebrides conveys the impression of melancholy landscapes that inspired Walter Scott.

As for Haydn's Symphony No. 92 in G major, it owes its Oxford nickname to the fact that it was premiered when the composer was awarded an honorary doctorate by the prestigious university.

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