Births and rebirths

Some works, contrary to the moods of their composers, conceal a secret, a crisis or a deep wound. Castelnuovo-Tedesco's first guitar concerto (1939), which appears soothing and cheerful, was composed when the composer - a Jew - fled from Fascist Italy to the United States. Underneath the traditional form of the neo-romantic concerto, traditional Jewish culture, never silenced, comes to the fore. The work also gives pride of place to the blossoming classical guitar, whose dialogues are delicately balanced with the orchestra. Under its strings, Spanish folklore is never far away. A fascinating work of exile, in which we dance more than we cry! Similarly, Beethoven sublimates a period of existential crisis in his Second Symphony (1803), perhaps the most joyful and energetic of all. And he, too, conjures up a few folk-spirited interventions in his classical writing. After this symphony, Beethoven revived, declaring: "From now on, I want to open a new path". More than a century apart, two works of exacerbated vitality overcame and sublimated the crisis. To be reborn. Today's composer, Betsy Jolas, perfectly reinforces this dialogue between past and present by reinterpreting the legacy of Renaissance sacred music (1996).