- Thursday, May 28, violinist Renaud Capuçon and his solo friends played Richard Strauss's Metamorphoses .
- Six cameras filmed musicians who were visibly happy to meet, despite the distance imposed on stage and the absence of an audience.
- 20 Minutes was in the room.
"Silence, I will ask you not to clap at the end," says the assistant director to the few people in the chairs, just before the first notes of Strauss's Metamorphoses resonate. And for good reason: the concert hall organized this week its first two unconfined concerts labeled "without public", broadcast on the web.
Almost without public: barely thirty people, organizers and journalists, or a few close to the musicians, were accepted this Thursday, May 28, for the second unconfined concert, after that of the Paris Orchestra, the day before. We recognize in the room the writer and great music lover Jacques Attali, gloved, masked. A Liberation photographer . Journalists from Arte, who broadcast the concert with a slight delay.
Happy to snort after a long sleep
On stage, 23 musicians sat down, including the violinist Renaud Capuçon, who brought them together. Behind them, around thirty large projectors and in front, six cameras. And between them, a good distance, almost two meters.
Suddenly the first vibrant notes of Metamorphoses are heard, this work composed at the end of the Second World War by the German composer, devastated by the destruction of his country. The soloists' bodies move like waves, with this space around them that they are not used to. Like bodies happy to snort after a long sleep. There is something beautiful and tragic about seeing them so happy to play in this big empty room. An air of thaw, of spring, floats in the room.
"It is a sublime, unifying, very strong work"
"It is the first time that I have seen a concert without an audience here. This marks the resumption of music on stage. And the takeover of all trades, ”says Emilie De Jong, director of the art and entertainment unit of Arte France. The idea of playing here as soon as possible came from Renaud Capuçon, who called Laurent Bayle, president of the Philharmonie three weeks ago: “For them it was important to give signals, to show the way. It is a symbolic value. "
Symbolic also this choice of Metamorphoses , whose title evokes the slow process of return to freedom, after confinement. The violinist, who has just been appointed conductor and artistic director of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra (OCL), explains to 20 Minutes : “It is a sublime, unifying, very strong work. It's both an orchestra and at the same time it's chamber music and it's played by soloists, so it's very symbolic of our profession. And there we have 23 great musicians, 23 strong personalities, I wanted French people and people I love for the occasion ”.
Thank you Renaud
After his concerts posted daily on his Facebook during confinement, which met with great success, these "little bandages" as he calls them, Renaud Capuçon finds the Philharmonie, where he had played for the last time in January. “It's a real renaissance. I'm happy to play, happy to work again. The rehearsal was very moving. There was a lot of waiting, we were deprived of this pleasure. We are coming back to life, ”he explains, adding that he felt“ like a bird in a cage ”but aware of having shown“ resilience ”.
On stage, the Metamorphoses continue to operate their silent transformation in us, to expand the interior space. Then the strings calm down. A long silence is heard, without applause. Each musician gently rests his instrument. There is still a long time, then everyone starts to stamp their feet on the floor of the stage. "Thank you Renaud" burst out, before a swarm of words, laughter, and rustles of clothes echo. The general public hesitates, applauds a little.
"We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel"
We come back to us, then we apostrophe Jacques Attali, who is seated next to it: “I was anxious to find this immense work and Renaud who is a friend. It's a strange experience that goes well with the work, ”he says.
As the musicians prepare to enter the stage, Edouard Philippe announces the reopening of the concert halls for the 22nd in the orange zone. "The epidemic is weakening and we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel," Renaud Capuçon told us just before the concert, confident that he had "goosebumps" at the idea of finding the public. His wish could soon be granted.
Culture
Coronavirus: "I told myself that I could do better than clapping at the windows every night," says artist Kongo
Culture
Coronavirus: "We wanted to give the virtual image of an orchestra that still exists", explains a musician of the National Orchestra of France
- Coronavirus
- Deconfinement
- Covid 19
- Paris
- Philharmonie Paris
- Music
- Classical music