„HISTOIRES SANS PAROLES” - TRACES FESTIVAL 2026

" Histoires sans paroles" by Philippe Graffin & Marisa Gupta

Certainly these composers names may be less familiar to you than Mozart or Beethoven, but rest assured: the music on this program is very accessible and full of charm!

The piece that opens the concert is by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, composed in Vienna in 1919. One can already sense why Korngold already famous for his opera The Dead City, would go on a few years later to become the great master of Hollywood film music.

Stravinsky, with his ballet The Fairy’s Kiss, created for the Ballets Russes in 1929, pays tribute to Tchaikovsky by drawing inspiration from actual works by the composer. The result is a whimsical, charming piece.

After taking the time to listen to Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa, we return to the atmosphere of freedom of the 1920s with Le Bœuf sur le toit (1919), which was also the name of a famous cabaret-restaurant where Diaghilev, the Ballets Russes, Cocteau, Erik Satie, and the “Group of Six” - of which Milhaud was a member - regularly gathered. It is here that Darius Milhaud introduces us to sounds inspired by Brazilian folklore, brought back from his journey to that country while serving as secretary to Paul Claudel.

PROGRAMME:

Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Suite from Much Ado about Nothing op. 11

Igor Stravinsky - Divertimento from The fairy’s kiss arr. Dushkin / Stravinsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / Nathan Milstein - Maria’s Aria from Mazeppa

Darius Milhaud - Cinéma-Fantaisie d'après Le bœuf sur le toit

Themes from Charlie Chaplin movies

Artists: Philippe Graffin - violin, Marisa Gupta - piano