Berlioz: Les nuits d'été, Op. 7, H 81b - Ravel: Shéhérazade, M. 41 - Saint-Saëns: Mélodies persanes, Op. 26 Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo & Kazuki Yamada

• Hector Berlioz (1803 - 1869): Les Nuits d'été, Op. 7, H 81b:
• 1Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été, Op. 7, H 81b: I. Villanelle, H 82b02:07
• 2Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été, Op. 7, H 81b: II. Le spectre de la rose, H 83b06:43
• 3Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été, Op. 7, H 81b: III. Sur les lagunes, H 84b06:20
• 4Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été, Op. 7, H 81b: IV. Absence, H 85b05:03
• 5Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été, Op. 7, H 81b: V. Au cimetière, H 86b04:53
• 6Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été, Op. 7, H 81b: VI. L'île inconnue, H 87b03:50
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921): Mélodies persanes, Op. 26:
• 7Saint-Saëns: Mélodies persanes, Op. 26: Prélude01:31
• 8Saint-Saëns: Mélodies persanes, Op. 26: No. 1, La brise02:22
• 9Saint-Saëns: Mélodies persanes, Op. 26: No. 2, La splendeur vide06:01
• 10Saint-Saëns: Mélodies persanes, Op. 26: No. 3, La solitaire03:07
• 11Saint-Saëns: Mélodies persanes, Op. 26: No. 4, Sabre en main03:38
• 12Saint-Saëns: Mélodies persanes, Op. 26: Interlude02:29
• 13Saint-Saëns: Mélodies persanes, Op. 26: No. 5, Au cimetière04:08
• 14Saint-Saëns: Mélodies persanes, Op. 26: No. 6, Tournoiement02:31
• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937): Shéhérazade, M. 41:
• 15Ravel: Shéhérazade, M. 41: No. 1, Asie09:29
• 16Ravel: Shéhérazade, M. 41: No. 2, La flûte enchantée02:52
• 17Ravel: Shéhérazade, M. 41: No. 3, L'indifférent03:41
• Total Runtime01:10:45

Info for Berlioz: Les nuits d'été, Op. 7, H 81b - Ravel: Shéhérazade, M. 41 - Saint-Saëns: Mélodies persanes, Op. 26

The Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and its Artistic and Music Director Kazuki Yamada, interprets the now ‘traditional’ recorded pairing of two sumptuous, escapist French song cycles: Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été and Ravel’s Shéhérazade. Complementing them both musically and thematically is a third, less frequently heard cycle by another great French composer, Camille Saint-Saëns: his Mélodies Persanes (Persian Songs). “From the first note to the last, Lemieux’s interpretation of the Berlioz was exemplary …” wrote Bachtrack when she performed Les Nuits d’été in Paris. “From the depths of her lower register to her shimmering high notes, she traced a supple trajectory through the work, phrasing with amplitude and missing no opportunity for word-painting.”

Palazzetto Bru Zane’s new edition of the cycle Saint-Saëns: Mélodies Persanes presented here, is a premiere recording, it gathers these orchestrations of the songs but restores the original piano-vocal order, repurposing two brief interludes from Nuit Persane to serve as an orchestral introduction and transition.

Marie-Nicole Lemieux, mezzo-soprano
Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo
Kazuki Yamada, Dirigent

Amihai Grosz
looks back on a very unusual career path: At first a quartet player (founding member of the Jerusalem Quartet), then and until today Principal Violist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and also a renowned soloist.

Initially, Amihai Grosz learned to play the violin, before switching to the viola at age 11. In Jerusalem, he was taught by David Chen, later by Tabea Zimmermann in Frankfurt and Berlin as well as in Tel Aviv by Haim Taub, who had a formative influence on him. At a very early age, he received various grants and prizes and was a member of the “Young Musicians Group” of the Jerusalem Music Center, a program for outstanding young musical talents.

As a soloist Grosz has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Tugan Sokhiev, Ariel Zukermann, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Simon Rattle, Alexander Vedernikov and Gerard Korsten and performs internationally with orchestras such as the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre d'Auvergne and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.

In the world of chamber music, Amihai Grosz performs with artists such as Yefim Bronfman, Mitsuko Uchida, Daniel Hope & Friends, Eric le Sage, Janine Jansen & Friends, Julian Steckel, Daishin Kashimoto and David Geringas. Internationally, he can be heard regularly at the most prestigious concert halls such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Tonhalle Zurich, Wigmore Hall in London and the Philharmonie Luxembourg, as well as at leading festivals including the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Evian, Verbier and Delft Festivals, the BBC Proms and the Utrecht International Chamber Music Festival.

The highlights of the season 20/21 are concerts with the Mannheim Music Academy under the direction of Ingo Metzmacher, the Camerata Salzburg and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra with Janine Jansen, the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Daniel Smith and chamber music projects, among others. with the Belcea Quartet and the Cuarteto Casals.

Amihai Grosz and the pianist Sunwook Kim form a strong chamber music collaboration. In September 2020 their joint album for viola and piano (with works by Schubert, Partós and Shostakovich) will be released by Alpha Classics. The album will be performed in the same season in the Philharmonie Warsaw and in the Salle del Castillo in Vevey.

In the season of 20/21 Amihai Grosz, together with Janine Jansen, has been appointed as Artistic Director of the International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht.

Amihai Grosz plays a Gaspar-da-Salò viola from the year 1570, which is a lifelong loan made available to him by a private collection.

This album contains no booklet.