When Music Becomes Image
Long before the invention of cinema, composers already knew how to tell stories through sound, evoke landscapes, and awaken the imagination of their listeners. From Bach to Brahms, from Lili Boulanger to Astor Piazzolla, music has always created images that each of us perceives in our own way.
This year, Les Étoiles du Morvan explores the unique relationship between music and imagination. Sometimes, it leads us directly into the world of cinema, as in the works of Nino Rota, Bernard Herrmann, John Barry and John Williams. At other times, we discover how composers, long before cinema came into being, already gave their music an almost cinematic power.
Across five concerts, chamber music, film music and musical storytelling come together. Great masterpieces meet unexpected discoveries, performed by leading musicians from across Europe, including members of the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
We invite you not only to listen, but also to see with your ears.
NEVERS – Sunday 9 August
Dreams and Memories
Ludwig van Beethoven – 'Gassenhauer' trio for clarinet, cello and piano op. 11
Johann Sebastian Bach – Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565 (accordion)
Lili Boulanger – Nocturne (violin, piano)
Astor Piazzolla – Oblivion
Johannes Brahms – Trio for horn, violin and piano op. 40
SAINT-HONORÉ-LES-BAINS – Monday 10 August
Stories Without Words
Franz Schreker – Der Wind (piano, violin, cello, horn, clarinet)
Emmanuel Hieaux – Par-delà les larmes de l’aube (Beyond the Tears of Dawn) - Trio for piano, horn and cello
Jean Sibelius – Valse triste op. 44 No. 1 (accordion)
John Williams – Star Wars (piano)
Antonín Dvořák – Bagatelles op. 47 (selection)
Nino Rota – Trio for piano, cello and clarinet
LORMES – Tuesday 11 August
From the Salon to Hollywood
Franz Schreker – Der Wind (piano, violin, cello, horn, clarinet)
Emmanuel Hieaux – Par-delà les larmes de l’aube (Beyond the Tears of Dawn) - Trio for piano, horn and cello
Jean Sibelius – Valse triste op. 44 No. 1 (accordion)
Erich Wolfgang Korngold – The Sea Hawk (piano)
Antonín Dvořák – Bagatelles op. 47 (selection)
Nino Rota – Trio for piano, cello and clarinet
SAINT-LÉGER-SOUS-BEUVRAY – Wednesday 12 August
Between Dream and Reality
Ludwig van Beethoven – 'Gassenhauer' trio for clarinet, cello and piano op. 11
Johann Sebastian Bach – Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565 (accordion)
Bernard Herrmann – Suite from Vertigo (piano)
Johannes Brahms – Trio for horn, violin and piano op. 40
ROUSSILLON-EN-MORVAN – Thursday 13 August
Cinema in Concert
A film music potpourri
Nino Rota – Trio (excerpt)
Astor Piazzolla – Oblivion
Bernard Herrmann – Excerpt from the Psycho Suite (piano and cello)
John Barry – The John Dunbar Theme (Dances with Wolves ; With the six artists of the Festival)
Quiz: Cinema and music — an inseparable duo
After the interval:
Short silent films by Georges Méliès, accompanied live by the musicians
Music arrangements and compositions:
Pieter Smithuijsen
Emmanuel Hieaux
Ramon van Engelenhoven
Robbrecht van Cauwenberghe
Rob Dirksen