Chausson: Symphony in B-Flat Major, Op. 20 - Viviane, Op. 5 (Orchestral & Vocal Works) Sinfonieorchester Basel & Ivor Bolton

• Ernest Chausson (1855 - 1899): Viviane, Op. 5:
• 1 Chausson: Viviane, Op. 5 13:09
• Symphony in B-Flat Major, Op. 20:
• 2 Chausson: Symphony in B-Flat Major, Op. 20: I. Lent – Allegro vivo 12:30
• 3 Chausson: Symphony in B-Flat Major, Op. 20: II. Très lent 08:55
• 4 Chausson: Symphony in B-Flat Major, Op. 20: III. Animé 14:57
• Pièce in C Major, Op. 39 for cello and orchestra (Orch. by Jacques Gaillard):
• 5 Chausson: Pièce in C Major, Op. 39 for cello and orchestra (Orch. by Jacques Gaillard) 09:09
• 2 Duos, Op. 11:
• 6 Chausson: 2 Duos, Op. 11: No. 1, La Nuit 02:48
• Hélène, Op. 7: Air d'Hélène:
• 7 Chausson: Hélène, Op. 7: Air d'Hélène: Cesse tes chants flatteurs 05:46
• Chansons de Miarka, Op. 17:
• 8 Chausson: Chansons de Miarka, Op. 17: No. 1, Les Morts 03:57
• Total Runtime 01:11:11

Info for Chausson: Symphony in B-Flat Major, Op. 20 - Viviane, Op. 5 (Orchestral & Vocal Works)

As Ivor Bolton prepares to bid farewell to the Sinfonieorchester Basel in the summer of 2025, we are pleased to present his final recording with the orchestra — a deeply personal French album dedicated to the music of Ernest Chausson.

This release captures the breadth of Chausson’s artistry: the lyrical and harmonically rich Symphonie in B-flat major — a masterful bridge between Romantic expression and Impressionist nuance — alongside evocative vocal works such as Viviane and Hélène, which highlight the intimate beauty of the human voice.

A poignant conclusion to Bolton’s celebrated tenure in Basel, this recording not only honours a remarkable musical partnership but also offers a fresh spotlight on a composer of rare emotional depth and orchestral finesse.

Lauranne Oliva, soprano
Marie-Claude Chappuis, mezzo-soprano
David Delacroix, cello
Sinfonieorchester Basel
Ivor Bolton, conductor

Ivor Bolton
From 2009-2016 the American conductor Dennis Russell Davies was leading the Sinfonieorchester Basel. At the beginning of the season 2016/17 Ivor Bolton took over as Principal Conductor. The British conductor was Chief Conductor of the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg from 2004-2016, and has conducted every year at the Salzburg Festival since 2000 in a wide opera and concert repertoire, including three Mozart operas in the Mozart anniversary festival in 2006. In September 2015, he took up the position of Music Director of the Teatro Real Madrid. He is also Chief Conductor of the Dresden Festival Orchestra.

Since his debut in 1994 Ivor Bolton has developed a close relationship with the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich where he has conducted many new productions in repertoire raging from Monteverdi to Britten. He was presented with the prestigious Bayerische Theaterpreis by the Prime Minister of Bavaria in November 1998.

Ivor Bolton made his Covent Garden debut in 1995, and has enjoyed a long association with Glyndebourne Festival Opera. He also works regularly at the Opéra National de Paris, The Wiener Staatsoper, the Netherlands Opera Amsterdam, the Zurich Opera, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Teatro Real Madrid and the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona.

Ivor Bolton has worked with many of the UK’s principal symphony orchestras, as well as with leading orchestras throughout the world, where concert engagements in recent seasons have included Vienna, Salzburg Festival, New York, Boston, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, Paris, Florence, Milan, Rotterdam, WDR Cologne, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecelia in Rome, Handel’s Athalia with Concerto Köln in New York, Paris and London and the Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra, with whom he conducted Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony over New Year 2005/6. He made his debut at the Proms in 1993, conducted Bach St John Passion at the Proms in 2000, and the Mozarteumorchester in 2006.

Recent and future operatic engagements include Die Zauberflöte and Alceste for the Wiener Staatsoper, Orfeo at Theater an der Wien, Der Fliegende Hollander , A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Von Winter’s Das Labyrinth in Salzburg, Peter Grimes in Dresden, Saul for Glyndebourne, Le Nozze di Figaro for Covent Garden, Iphigenie en Tauride at Covent Garden and in Paris, Tamerlano for Covent Garden and Munich, Cavalli’s Ercole Amante, Billy Budd, Deidamia and Armide for Netherlands Opera, Jenufa, Alceste, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte and Das Liebesverbot for the Teatro Real in Madrid, Entführung in Barcelona and Munich, Le Nozze di Figaro, Medea in Corinto, La Calisto, Die Zauberflöte, Mitridate and L’Orfeo in Munich, Turn of the Screw in Berlin and Orontea in Frankfurt.

Recent and future concert engagements include performances with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg both in Salzburg and on tour throughout the world. Guest engagements include the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, the NDR Hamburg, Hamburg Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Concerto Köln, RAI Turin, Basel Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Bamberg Symphony, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Wiener Symphoniker, Tonkünstler Orchester, Orchestra de Chambre de Paris, Danish National Radio Symphony, and the Dresden Festival Orchestra.

His many recordings with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg include Bruckner Symphonies No.s 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ, Haydn’s Creation and The Seasons, as well as a wide repertoire of Mozart, and other recordings include Xerxes, Ariodante and Poppea from Munich. With the Sinfonieorchester Basel, he has recorded Of Madness and Love with works by Berlioz and The Secret Fauré.

Booklet for Chausson: Symphony in B-Flat Major, Op. 20 - Viviane, Op. 5 (Orchestral & Vocal Works)