“Symphonie espagnole” – Édouard Lalo
by richibi
“La Trahison des images (Ceci n’est pas une pipe)“
/ “The Treachery Of Images (This Is Not A Pipe)“ – (1948)
___________
paintings don’t lie,
music doesn’t either,
only words do
me
in this age of fake news, maybe the
following piece of musicological
misinformation shouldn’t be so
surprising, yet there it is, flagrant,
disturbing and disorienting, and
apparently irreversible
Édouard Lalo‘s “Symphonie espagnole“,
however acclaimed as such, is still to my
mind, and to several others concerned, a
misnomer, the “Symphonie“ is actually a
concerto, and I can’t think for a moment
why Lalo would’ve called it otherwise
a symphony is an aggregation of sounds
to produce melodies and harmonies, a
concerto spotlights a soloist, who
generally determines the direction the
music will follow
or soloists
once you have a concerto, you can no
longer call it a symphony, it would be
to disregard a defining element, like
calling someone a girl once she’s
become a princess, for instance,
complete with glass slippers and a
tiara, it would be at the very least
disrespectful, if not out and out
dishonest
Lalo here is, however, magisterial, all
five movements glitter with, for the
violin, utterly magical moments, the
violinist weaving wizardry minute by
electrifying minute
after such a turn, one must allow
Lalo to call his opus what he will,
I guess, forgive him his linguistic
trespasses
Richard
psst: I have not accorded Bartók the same leniency
for his “Concerto for Orchestra“,
however – the Lalo dilemma but in reverse,
an orchestra is by definition not a soloist
– for I’ve always found Bartók inscrutable,
sound and fury, here specifically, though
uncharacteristically scrutable in this
particular instance, signifying nevertheless,
I’m afraid, still nothing, no underlying animus,
philosophical, or existential, underpinning
but to kill time, a tragic and disqualifying,
flaw, unfortunately, in my, however humble
ever, opinion
but you be the judge
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