Klaus Mäkelä conducts Ravel, Bartók and Connesson Oboe and Flute Concertos

Klaus Mäkelä invites listeners to use their ears and eyes. Maurice Ravel, a master of ‘visual’ composition, could depict exotic settings and fairy-tale atmospheres with razor-sharp precision. In the rarely performed orchestral miniature Shéhérazade, we are transported to the world of The Thousand and One Nights. Ravel’s compatriot Guillaume Connesson is a contemporary sound wizard. His works sound almost cinematic, not least because of their highly refined orchestration. In addition to his recent oboe concerto, entitled Les belles heures, with Ivan Podyomov as soloist, the programme features the brand-new flute concerto he composed especially for the Concertgebouw Orchestra and its principal flautist Emily Beynon. It’s the perfect opportunity to discover for yourself why Connesson’s exciting music appeals to such a wide audience.

The programme contrasts French sophistication with Hungarian horror by Béla Bartók. In The Miraculous Mandarin, Bartók managed to express in music the more primitive side of modern civilisation. This grim fairy tale sounds just as exciting – and alarming – as it did 100 years ago.