Kowalski and Han: A romantic flight to Lieux retrouvés

Soft yellow, blue and purple pastels paint scenes of reunion: A setting sun; A shore; A German Shepherd offering a balloon to a seagull that dives down to a dolphin. Painted by American cellist Madelyn Kowalski, these watercolour scenes demonstrate the same themes and artistic sensibility as composer Thomas Adès in Lieux retrouvés - each movement depicting a scene. We may ask ourselves how Kowalski will translate paintbrush to bow.??

In Les Eaux, we see. It begins with the stillness of water then transitions to an expanse of swirling motifs, as colours slowly muddy together.?

Equally dedicated to storytelling through music is American pianist Anna Han - described as “prodigiously gifted” by the Washington Post, with a vivid “display of imagination and taste…far beyond her years”. Together, Han and Kowalski will interpret Fauré’s Romance for Cello and Piano in A Major, Op. 69. Muted in its melodic style, the compositional restraint allows an intensity of feeling to simmer near the surface.?

Such compositional restraint sometimes translates into lexical restraint. After the success of his Elegie, Fauré was encouraged to write another duo for cello and piano by his publisher, Hamelle. Fauré agreed and created “Piece for Violoncello”. Expecting more evocative imagery, Hamelle insisted he change the title. It became “Papillon” (butterfly). However, this did not necessarily emerge from deep artistic reflection. Reportedly, Fauré declared: “Butterfly or dung fly – call it whatever you want”. Comprising a single movement, this work nonetheless became a staple of Romantic repertoire.?

No dung flies are apparent in Kaija Saariaho’s Sept Papillons (Seven Butterflies). As a metaphor for the ephemeral, this work – one of Saariaho’s best – involves several extended techniques for the cello, such as harmonics , variable bow pressure, and?sul ponticello . It demands technical dexterity and a mastery of different emotional worlds: “Sweet, light and free” in the first movement, “Calm, with sadness” in the third and “Always a little nervous, timeless” in the sixth.?

These emotional worlds are deliberately stirred in Camille Saint- Sa?ns’ Sonata for Cello and Piano No.2 in F Major, Op. 123. His third movement, he wrote, is “a romance that will delight cellists…the Adagio will bring tears to sensitive souls”. However, not all have heavy emotional weight: the second movement is a Scherzo with eight variations (including a fugue). The ending Rondo engages piano and cello in playful imitative games, “[waking up] anyone who’s slept through the rest of the piece.”?

You can watch this upcoming live-streamed concert at 20:00 CET on Thursday 25 January on LinkedIn or via www.classeek.com . We hope you join us and enjoy the show!

Programme notes by Malika Jumbe