The OM Alfresco | Orchestre Metropolitain

Dates and Locations Date Location Choose

Saturday
July 16th
8:30 PM

Théâtre de Verdure (Plateau-Mont-Royal)

Past Free

Symphonic personalities

Program

Louise Farrenc

Symphony No. 3

I. Adagio – Allegro
II. Adagio cantabile
III. Scherzo : Vivace
IV. Finale : Allegro

Duration: approx. 32 minutes
Beethoven

Symphony No. 5

I. Allegro con brio
II. Andante con moto
III. Allegro
IV. Allegro

Duration: approx. 30 minutes

Media

Conductor

Mélanie Léonard

To fulfill the aim of sharing its passion with as many people as possible, the OM is committed to offering free concerts in various Montreal parks. In collaboration with Montreal boroughs, the Orchestra is on a mission to contribute to the well-being of everyone through music, to stimulate curiosity and to foster public exchange. Under the direction of Montreal conductor Mélanie Léonard, the OM will offer a magnificent program sure to captivate music lovers!

A current of hope permeates Beethoven’s Symphony no. 5, one of the most famous works of all times, with its unmistakable four-note opening motif of three short notes followed by a long note whose grandiose and imposing presence is like a rumour that spreads through the whole orchestra. Louise Farrenc’s Symphony no. 3 showcases the full extent of this remarkable composer’s gifts and astounding melodic inventiveness. In 19^th-century Paris, Farrenc was one of the few women composers of the Romantic period to have obtained the recognition of her peers during her lifetime. Her output acknowledges the legacy of Beethoven, Schubert and Mendelssohn.

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Works

Louise Farrenc

1804 – 1875

Symphony No. 3

Premiered in Paris on April 22, 1849, conducted by Narcisse Girard

Louise Farrenc is one of the rare female composers of her era to have been recognized and celebrated in her lifetime. Born Jeanne-Louise Farrenc, she was the daughter of French sculptor Jacques-Edme Dumont (1761-1844), the fourth in a long line of renowned sculptors founded by her ancestor François Dumont (1660-1737). Louise’s brother Auguste also became a sculptor; his works include the Génie de la Liberté atop the July Column in the centre of the Place de la Bastille in Paris.

Louise was strongly encouraged by her family to develop her musical talent. She began piano studies with Anne-Élisabeth-Cécile Soria, a pupil of Clementi, before studying with Moscheles, Hummel and Reicha. She was 18 when she married Aristide Farrenc a flautist, composer and, more importantly, music publisher. He did everything in his power to further his wife’s career, notably by becoming her impresario and publisher.

Louise Farrenc mainly composed piano music, chamber music and orchestral works, including three symphonies. Appointed professor of piano at the Paris Conservatory, it was only after nine years of repeated demands that she was paid a salary equal to that of her male counterparts.

Her Symphony No. 3 draws on the heritage of Beethoven, Schubert and Mendelssohn. Here is an excerpt from a contemporary review by Théophile Gauthier: “…the evening’s top honours went to the Symphony in G minor by Madame Farrenc, a remarkable work in which the composer lifts herself to the level of the greatest masters.”

Beethoven

1770 – 1827

Symphony No. 5

Premiered in Vienna on December 22, 1808, conducted by Beethoven

In 1806, Beethoven began working seriously on two major symphonies he would develop and complete concurrently. However different, they can be seen as bearing complementary messages, as two parts of a unique, overarching work. One shows us man confronting fate. In the other, the Pastoral, man is humble and filled with awe at nature. Both works were premiered in 1808 at the same concert in Vienna. The concert program assigned the number five to the Pastoral, while the “fate” symphony was number six. It was only on publication in 1809 that the two symphonies received their definitive numbers.

Symphony No. 5 is certainly Beethoven’s most celebrated. Who doesn’t know at least the beginning with its so-called “fate” motif (G-G-G-E flat)? Those four fateful notes were used as the signature theme for radio broadcasts in France during the German occupation. For the Allies, Roman numeral five brought V for victory to mind. In addition, in Morse code, the letter v is represented by three dots followed by a dash, the same rhythm as the famous four notes! No wonder, then, that Beethoven’s fifth became the symbol of the Resistance. Indeed, this poignant work plunges us directly into the desperate struggle between man and a terrible, pitiless fate.

After a pitched battle, man is struck down with relentless determination by fate (first movement). He then regains his strength (second movement) and returns to the fray (third movement), which ends in a blaze of glory with man’s definitive victory over fate (fourth movement; note that the last two movements are played without a break), just as the free world would triumph over the Nazi threat.

This work is the shortest of the “great” symphonies: great by nature, not length.

Conductor & Soloists

Mélanie Léonard

Conductor

Mélanie Léonard, born in Montréal and raised in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, is the Music Director of Symphony New Brunswick and the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra. Prior to her appointment in Sudbury, she held the positions of resident conductor (2009-2012) and associate conductor (2012-2013) with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.

She guest conducted at the Montreal International Jazz Festival and with several Canadian Orchestras, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, I Musici, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, Regina Symphony Orchestra, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, Stratford Symphony Orchestra, Niagara Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre Symphonique de Longueuil. Mrs. Léonard is a sought after studio recording conductor. She lead the orchestra and choir in the studio recording of the music for Aura (music by Gabriel Thibaudeau et Marc Bell), a multidisciplinary show produced by Moment Factory and presented at the Montreal Notre-Dame Basilica. She recorded soundtracks for movies, multimedia projects, and more recently for Paradise City, an immersive environment in a South Korean Hotel complex.

She worked with renowned artists such as Herbie Hancock, Charles Richard-Hamelin, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Shauna Rolston and actors John Rhys Davies (Lord of the Rings) , Garrett Want (Star Trek) and John de Lancie (Star Trek).

In 2014, she founded the Wild West New Music Ensemble in Calgary, for which she was Music Director and Conductor (2014-2016). During the same year, she co-founded the Calgary New Music Festival and served as its Artistic Director until 2016. She was also the music director of Vaudreuil-Soulanges choir. Maestra Léonard was music collaborator for La Croisée des Cheminson ICI Radio-Canada Première Calgary from 2013 to 2016 and in 2017, Orford Music invited her to give a conference about artistic leadership (Finding human connection in a virtually connected society). In 2018-2019, she was adjudicator for Festival et concours de musique classique de Lanaudière and Festival des harmonies et orchestres symphoniques du Québec.

In 2019-2020, she made her debut with Les Violons du Roy and Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra. She was to maker her debut with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Sherbrooke . She also had return engagements with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, Thunder Bay Symphony and Symphony New Brunswick. Several of these concerts were rescheduled to an upcoming season due to the global pandemic.

Mélanie Léonard completed her Doctorate in orchestral conducting at Université de Montréal under Maestri Paolo Bellomia and Jean-François Rivest. She holds a bachelor degree in Music Theory from the same university. She received her Masters of Music in Orchestra Conducting from the Hartt School of Music (Hartford, Connecticut), where she studied with Maestro Christopher Zimmerman. In 2012, she received the Jean-Marie Beaudet prize in orchestral conducting, awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts.

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