Concertini programme 2024-25

La Monnaie’s chamber music season gives the musicians of our Symphony Orchestra – one of the artistic pillars of our house – the opportunity to enrich their repertoire. In a hushed setting and with intimate instrumental ensembles, they will perform familiar works of music, but also have some wonderful surprises in store for you.

As usual, we will draw a connection with the works in our opera and symphony programmes. In line with our Ring cycle, we will continue the collaboration we began last season with musicologist Stijn Paredis from KU Leuven. Four concertini this season will be devoted to the fin-de-siècle aesthetics and the artistic circles of Les XX and La Libre Esthétique, which gravitated around La Monnaie at the time. Claude Debussy, Vincent d’Indy, Emmanuel Chabrier, François Rasse and Joaquín Turina will all be featured.

The voice will also be very much in evidence. We are delighted to welcome the artists from the La Monnaie Choruses (conducted by Emmanuel Trenque) for two original programmes, one with the women’s chorus and the other with a mixed ensemble. The young singers of the MM Academy will surprise us on several occasions, among others during the traditional Wild Cards and the concert presenting the new Soloists and Laureates. Baritone Werner Van Mechelen and pianist Florestan Bataillie will give a recital in which lieder of Hugo Wolf, Franz Schubert and Gustav Mahler resonate with songs of Ralph Vaughan Williams. After many years as répétiteur, pianist Inge Spinette will be bidding farewell to La Monnaie. On this occasion, she will be reunited with her faithful singing friends for what promises to be a particularly festive concert.

We will also put the spotlight on the centennial of Gabriel Fauré’s passing and celebrate the 125th birthday of Francis Poulenc, by dedicating some of our concerts to their works. Following on from the operatic performances of our diptych on Claudio Monteverdi, it is with great pleasure that we welcome the musicians of the Cappella Mediterranea ensemble to delve deeper into the baroque chamber music repertoire. Lastly, contemporary music will not be forgotten. We reunite with composers Kris Defoort and Harold Noben – all on the bill of the opera season – in programmes dedicated to our different ensembles.

4.10.2024	BARTÓK / YSAŸE BÉLA BARTÓK (1881-1945) Duets for two violins, Sz. 98 (1931) (excerpts) EUGENE YSAŸE (1858-1931) Sonate pour deux violons en la mineur (1915) Saténik Khourdoïan (vl), Sylvia Huang (vl)
11.10.2024	MÉLODIES GABRIEL FABRE (1858-1921) Complainte « Et s’il revenait un jour » (1895) GUILLAUME LEKEU (1870-1894) Trois poèmes (1892) GABRIEL FAURÉ (1845-1924) La bonne chanson, op. 61 (1892-94) GABRIEL FAURÉ Impromptus pour piano (excerpts) Kamil Ben Hsain Lachiri (baritono, MM Laureate) & Marie Datcharry (pf)
18.10.2024	KRIS DEFOORT / DEDICATIO BOOK I JAN MICHIELS (pf) CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918) « Des pas sur la neige » from Premier livre des Préludes, L. 117/6 (1909) KRIS DEFOORT (°1959) I. Undressed Conversation (to S.K.) II. Opera Fever (to LOD) LEOŠ JANÁČEK (1854-1928) Allegro-Adagio from On an Overgrown Path, second volume (1900-12) KRIS DEFOORT III. Lonely men (to O.) IV. Genius Time (to K.D.) CLAUDE DEBUSSY « Feux d'artifice », from Deuxième livre des Préludes, L. 131/12 (1911-12) KRIS DEFOORT V. Sleeping Boys (to U. and K.) LEOŠ JANÁČEK Good Night! from On an Overgrown Path, first volume (1900-12) KRIS DEFOORT VI. Treasure of Emotions (to Keith Jarret) VII. Indispensable Beauty (to K.N.) CLAUDE DEBUSSY « Minstrels », from Premier livre des Préludes, L.117/12 (1909) KRIS DEFOORT VIII. Deadline Dreams (to J.M.) FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810-1849) Allegretto from Préludes, op. 28/17 (1838-39) KRIS DEFOORT IX. Midnight Cantate (to my parents) Jan Michiels (pf)
25.10.2024	MM SOLOISTS AND LAUREATES 2024-2025 Vocal programme
8.11.2024	REICHA ANTON REICHA (1770-1836) Trios for two French Horns and Bassoon, op.93 (c.1815) Wind Quintet in E flat major, op.88 n°2 (1818) La Monnaie Wind Quintet
22.11.2024	MODERN MUSIC Low Brass of la Monnaie
29.11.2024	CHORALE DES XX VINCENT D’INDY (1851-1931) Sur la mer, op.32 (1888) CÉSAR FRANCK (1822-1890) Chœur des Anges, from Rédemption, FWV.52/7 (1873) GABRIEL FAURÉ (1845-1924) L’hiver s’enfuit, from Caligula, op.52/2 (1888) Le ruisseau, op.22 (1881) EMMANUEL CHABRIER (1841-1894) À la musique (1890-91) a.o. Emmanuel Trenque (music direction) La Monnaie Women chorus Alberto Moro (pf)
6.12.2024	TRIBUTE TO PHILIP JONES La Monnaie Brass section
13.12.2024	THE SECOND VIOLONS OF THE LA MONNAIE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
20.12.2024	SCHUBERT FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Oktett in F-Dur, D.803 (1824) Saténik Khourdoïan (vl), Noémi Tiercet (vl), Florent Brémond (vla), Sébastien Walnier (vc), Marc Terré Garcia (cb), Orane Bargain (cr), Alberto Blanco Garcia (cl), Alain Cremers (fg)
17.1.2025	WILD CARD MM ACADEMY CABARET SONGS WILLIAM BOLCOM (°1938) Amor from Cabaret Songs, First Volume (1996) FRANK NUYTS (°1957) Convertible superstar from Carbon Fixation Ensemble (2015) BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-1976) Cabaret Songs (1937-39) GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898-1937) The man I love from Songbook (1919-31) “By Strauss” from An American in Paris (1928) KURT WEILL (1900-1950) Youkali from Marie Galante (1934) “Foolish Heart”, “Speak Low” & “I’m a Stranger Here Myself” from One Touch of Venus (1943) Marie-Juliette Ghazarian, (mezzo-soprano, MM Laureate) & Marie Datcharry (pf)
24.1.2025	LISZT / WAGNER / CHOPIN FRANZ LISZT (1811-1886) La lugubre gondola (for violin and piano), s.135, (1885) RICHARD WAGNER (1813-1883) Ein Albumblatt, WWV 94 (violin and piano) FRÉDERIC CHOPIN (1810-1849) Piano Trio in G minor, op.8 (1828-29) Femke Sonnen (vl), NN (vc), Yasuko Takahashi (pf)
31.1.2025 Fiocco room	RECITAL WERNER VAN MECHELEN & FLORESTAN BATAILLIE “LEBENSWANDEL” HUGO WOLF (1860-1903) Fußreise (1888) JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897) Wir wandelten (1884) FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828) Im Frühling, D. 882 (1826) GUSTAV MAHLER (1860-1911) Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (1883-85) RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958) Songs of Travel (1905-12) Werner Van Mechelen (bass-baritone), Florestan Bataillie (pf)
7.2.2025	MOZART / HUMMEL WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) Quartett F-Dur für Oboe, Violine, Viola und Violoncello, KV.370 (1781) Luk Nielandt (hb), Sylvia Huang (vl), NN (vla), Sébastien Walnier (vc) JOHANN NEPOMUK HUMMEL (1778-1837) Septet in D-Moll n°1 für Pianoforte, Flöte, Oboe, Horn, Viola, Cello, Kontrabass, op.74 (c.1816) Yaeram Park (fl), Luk Nielandt (hb), Orane Bargain (cr), NN (vla), Sébastien Walnier (vc), Marc Terré (cb), Jan Michiels (pf)
14.2.2025	RIPPER / SCHUMANN JOÃO GUILHERME RIPPER (°1959) Duo Sonatina (2006) ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810-1856) Drei Romanzen, op. 94 (1849) Sechs Studien in kanonischer Form, op.56 (1845) Luk Nielandt (hb), NN (vc), Abdel Rahman El Bacha (pf)
21.2.2025	PETIT PARIS PAUL GILSON (1865-1942) Humoresque n°1 VINCENT D’INDY (1851-1931) Chanson et danses, op. 50 (1898) Sarabande et Menuet pour Quintette de vents et Piano, op.72 (1918) ALBERT ROUSSEL (1869-1937) Divertissement, op.6 (1906) La Monnaie Chamber Ensemble & Yasuko Takahashi (pf)
28.2.2025	NOBEN / KORNGOLD HAROLD NOBEN (°1978) Quartet from the Portuguese (2022) ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD (1897-1957) String Quartet n°2, op.26 (1933) Saténik Khourdoïan (vl), Noémi Tiercet (vl), Florent Brémond (vla), NN (vc)
7.3.2025	ZEMLINSKY / MARTINU ALEXANDER ZEMLINSKY (1871-1942) Humoreske (1939) BOHUSLAV MARTINU Les madrigaux, H. 266 (1937) Quartet for Clarinet, Horn, Cello and Snare Drum, H.139 (1924) Yaeram Park (fl), Luk Nielandt (hb), Alberto Blanco Garcia (cl), Orane Bargain (cr), Alain Cremers (fg), NN (vc), NN (percussion)
14.3.2025 Fiocco room	BRITTEN / SHOSTAKOVITCH BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-1973) Simple Symphony, op.4 (1933-34) DMITRI SHOSTAKOVITCH (1906-1975) Chamber Symphony, op.110a (1967) La Monnaie String Ensemble
21.3.2025	RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE MUSIC La Monnaie Brass section
28.3.2025	NOBEN HAROLD NOBEN (°1978) Sextuor à cordes « Sous les étoiles de Gaïa » - Thème et improvisations (2023) Sylvia Huang (vl), Femke Sonnen (vl), NN (vla), NN (vla), Sébastien Walnier (vc), NN (vc)
4.4.2025 Fiocco room	MISATANGO MARTIN PALMERI (°1965) Misa a Buenos Aires (Misatango) (1956) Emmanuel Trenque (conductor) Annelies Kerstens (soprano), Hélène Faux (mezzosoprano) La Monnaie Chorus Femke Sonnen (vl), NN (vla), NN (vc) & Ensemble ZinneTango : Camille Babut du Mares (vl), Fabrizio Colombo (bandoneon), Felipe Devincenzi (cb) & Pablo Becerra (pf)
11.4.2025	BAROQUE VIOLON Femke Sonnen (vl), e.a.
18.4.2025 Fiocco room	LE DONNE DI CAVALLI CAPPELLA MEDITERRANEA / LEONARDO GARCÍA ALARCÓN BARBARA STROZZI (1619-1677) L’amante segreto, op. 2 ANTONIA BEMBO (c. 1640- c. 1720) Produzioni armoniche consacrate a Luigi XIV - M’ingannasti in verità BARBARA STROZZI Che si può fare ANTONIA BEMBO Produzioni armoniche consacrate a Luigi XIV - Volgete altrove il guardo BARBARA STROZZI Sino alla morte FRANCESCO CAVALLI (1602-1676) E vuol dunque Ciprigna from Ercole Amante (1662) BARBARA STROZZI Lagrime mie Mariana Flores (soprano), Rodrigo Calveyra (recorder & cornetto), Marie Bournisien (hp), Margaux Blanchard (viola da gamba), Monica Pustilnik (archlute & guitar), Quito Gato (theorbo, guitar & drum), Leonardo García Alarcón (harpsichord, organ & music direction)
25.4.2025	ORGAN CONCERT Works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Benoît Mernier, a.o. Benjamin Prunet (organ), a.o.
9.5.2025 Fiocco room	CARTE BLANCHE FOR INGE SPINETTE Vocal programme
16.5.2025	NEW BELGIAN MUSIC FOR BRASS QUINTET La Monnaie Brass Quintet
23.5.2025 Fiocco room	WILD CARD MM ACADEMY FRANCIS POULENC (1899-1963) Rapsodie nègre (1917) Le Bestiaire ou Cortège d’Orphée (1919) Trio pour piano, hautbois et basson, op.43 (1926) Le Bal masqué (1932) Lucas Cortoos (baritono, MM Laureate), La Monnaie Chamber Ensemble & Vincent Van Audenhove (pf)
6.6.2025	RASSE & TURINA FRANÇOIS RASSE (1873-1955) Trio en si mineur pour piano, violon et violoncelle, op. 16 (1897) JOAQUÍN TURINA (1882-1949) Piano Quintet, op. 1 (1908) Saténik Khourdoïan (vl), Noémi Tiercet (vl), Florent Brémond (vla), Sébastien Walnier (vc), NN (pf)
13.6.2025	AROUND CARMEN La Monnaie Brass section
20.6.2025	100% FAURÉ GABRIEL FAURÉ (1845-1924) Barcarolle n°1, op.26 (1881) Trois romances sans paroles, op.17 (1863) Élégie, op.24 (1880) Quatuor avec piano n°1, op.15 (1876-1879 / 1883) Sylvia Huang (vl), Florent Brémond (vla), Sébastien Walnier (vc), Julien Gernay (pf)