The Sunday Times catches up with Raoul Lay, artistic director of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, prior to the MPO’s upcoming concert: Strauss Composer & Conductor at the Astra Theatre in Gozo.

You often refer to Richard Strauss as the ‘ultimate Romantic composer’. Can you delve further into this?

 Two great artists deserve the title of the ‘ultimate Romantic composer’: Strauss and Mahler. Yet, while the second died in 1911, the first continued his oeuvre until 1949.

Moreover, we can observe that, although both were deeply influenced by Wagner, their own vision of musical expressivity is quite different: Mahler pushes Romanticism towards modernity, whereas Strauss maintained in his large-sized orchestration a joy and an ingenuity similar to the initial romantic period.

In addition, Strauss received acclaim from the Parisian composers like Debussy as his musical prowess, although technically Wagnerian, was tinged with delicate impressionism. This is why, both from an historical and stylistic point of view, Strauss can be defined as the ‘ultimate Romantic’.

The concert is aptly titled Strauss Composer & Conductor. How do you describe your affinity with such an important figure – in view of your mutual dual role in music?

 What a deep and intimate question! Continuing further on the two musical icons mentioned above, let us take a historical perspective: Mahler became conductor because his first work, Das klagende Lied, was a failure. Strauss, son of a talented horn player, became conductor by choice, supported by Hans Von Bülow. Both also conducted each other’s respective pieces, as good friends and loyal colleagues.

 Personally, I can say my first vocation was composition. Then, in the early nineties, I started conducting my music as well as that of fellow young French composers. Eventually, mentored by Pierre Boulez, David Robertson and Peter Eötvös, I learned the art of conducting contemporary music, progressively extending the repertoire to classical and romantic music. Today, I share my time between conducting and composing, and I can say that one activity feeds the other.

The Sinfonia Domestica is an early 20th century masterpiece which the MPO will be premiering in Malta. How challenging is this prospect?

First of all, it is certainly challenging for us! Strauss’s orchestration is uniquely refined, particularly the Domestica, which presents an amazing array of sounds full of emotion.

In addition, this symphonic poem is in a way the composer’s most proficient orchestral work. Indeed, bar the Alpensymphonie, this was Strauss’s last grand symphonic work prior to immersing himself in the operatic genre. These reasons were behind my decision to perform this piece with the MPO, bolstering further the orchestra’s continuous development. By broadening our capabilities, we will grasp more effectively the ensemble’s potential and delineate its artistic future.

Strauss coined this work as a musical depiction of family life. Can you elaborate on how the composer achieves this unique portrayal of his household?

Answering this particular question, let us remember that Domestica is a symphonic poem, which means an orchestral piece based on a non-musical hypotext, in this case written by the composer. Strauss penned programme notes describing the work’s plot, a 24-hour cycle in his household. Musically, the three members of his immediate family are portrayed in a number of contrasting scenarios, leading to a final serene ending.

The programme is complemented with another great work from the period, Sibelius’s Violin Concerto. What inspired you to pair these two compositions together?

The Sinfonia Domestica was premiered on March 21, 1904, in New York by the Wetzler Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Richard Strauss. On October 19, 1905, the Sibelius Violin Concerto  was performed for the first time by the Berliner Philharmoniker - also under the baton of Strauss. It depicts clearly the latter’s tireless endeavour towards the promotion of new music written by his contemporaries ‒ notwithstanding his own career as a composer.

By broadening our capabilities, we will grasp more effectively the ensemble’s potential and delineate its artistic future

On the specific structure of the two pieces, we can observe that both reveal traits of late romantic music: lyricism, expression, virtuosity and novelty. As such, Sibelius skips the conventional tutti  opening statement and immediately showcases the violin, emerging from a cloud of ethereal strings.

As the piece evolves, the relation between the soloist and orchestra mirrors a romantic topic – the individual’s place within the world’s industrialisation. Similarly, Strauss’s extra-musical programme and majestic orchestration result in an ultra-romantic colour attained through tempos and timbres used.

What are your thoughts on these first six months leading Malta’s national musical ensemble as its artistic director, and can you share your plans for the orchestra’s development?

Strauss Composer & Conductor will mark my first four months as artistic director of the MPO. Nevertheless, the three concerts I have conducted so far this season proved to be great experiences which I fondly cherish.

Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht was a moment of cohesion and stylistic progress for the string section whereas Ravel’s Piano Concerto enhanced our collective musicality. Besides, Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll and particularly Strauss’s Wind Serenade transfigured our wind players as they engaged to attain a wide range of colours.

In the upcoming concerts, together we shall be performing Beethoven, Stravinsky, Mussorgsky and Prokofiev in what promises to be an exciting first season with Malta’s national orchestra. In the coming years, I shall focus on offering a solo platform to players from within theorchestra, while proposing different stylistic programmes, including a concert presenting eminent British composers.

Certainly, French music shall feature in our future plans – indeed a discographic recording celebrating Saint-Saëns’s 100th anniversary in 2021 would be apt!

Raoul Lay will be conducting the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra at Teatru Astra on Saturday, February 8. An exclusive shuttle service (requiring pre-booking) will be provided for patrons from the Mġarr Ferry Terminal. For information, visit www.maltaorchestra.com; for bookings, www.showshappening.com.

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