Episodes
| Series | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | A Parisian Childhood | 20050328 | 20050403 (R3) | Donald Macleod explores the relationship between Chausson's early experiences and his music. Ernest Chausson was a serious, thoughtful and somewhat melancholic man. The only surviving son of a prosperous building contractor, he was educated at home, away from the company of other children, in an adult and highly cultured environment. Chausson later acknowledged this as having had a lasting effect on him. Donald Macleod explores the relationship between Chausson's early lfe and his music. |
| 2005 | Belgium | 20050330 | 20050405 (R3) | Donald Macleod recounts how Chausson found more appreciation for his music in Belgium. |
| 2005 | Le Roi Arthus | 20050331 | 20050406 (R3) | Ernest Chausson slaved over his opera, based on the legend of King Arthur, for ten years |
| 2005 | No 22 Boulevard De Courcelles | 20050329 | 20050404 (R3) | Donald Macleod considers the influence Ernest Chausson had within artistic circles in Paris. Following his marriage, Chausson moved into a substantial house in the eighth arondissement of Paris. There he established what became a legendary salon. Visitors ranged from the poet Stephane Mallarme to Henri de Regnier, artists such as Paul Gauguin, musicians ranging from the Franckists to Debussy and Albeniz. Through this and his position as Secretary of the Societe Nationale de Musique, Chausson was able to use his influence to promote their works, sometimes at the expense of performances of his own music. Donald Macleod considers the influence Ernest Chausson had in Parisian artistic circles. |
| 2018 | A Friendship With Debussy | 20180905 | Donald Macleod explores the circumstances of Chausson's brief, yet intense friendship with Debussy. Am退d退e-Ernest Chausson grew up in Paris during a period of great political, social and economic upheaval in France. Born in 1855, he was fifteen at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian; he lived through the collapse of the Second Empire and the advent of the Third Republic. However Chausson's family was materially little affected by these dramatic events, quite the opposite in fact. His father profited from the 1850s onwards, working as a building contractor for Baron Haussmann, the man Napoleon III had entrusted to remodel the narrow streets of medieval Paris into wide open boulevards. Even after Napoleon was deposed, the re-construction of the capital city continued. Chausson's bourgeois lifestyle reflects the salon society of the mid nineteenth century, with an extensive art collection adorning the walls of his family's substantial residence at 22 Boulevard de Courcelles a stone's throw from leafy Parc Monceau. Chausson remained in the same mansion with his wife and their three children. Supported by a private income, unlike most artists and musicians within his large circle of acquaintances, he was able to devote himself to composing entirely without any pressure to provide financially for his family. That's not to say that Chausson's life was without a care in the world. Critics saw him as a dilettante rather than a serious musician. His relatively small output reflects the agonies of doubt in his mind. His battle to find his own voice at a time when Wagner had cast a long shadow over French music resulted in his only opera taking almost ten years to complete. This struggle for artistic recognition was only just turning a corner when he died unexpectedly at the age of 44 in 1899. Family holidays and boating trips on the River Marne with Chausson and his close relatives set the tone for a young Debussy's friendship with the older composer. Yet after a year of intense correspondence and acquaintance, this artistically fruitful relationship came to an abrupt end. Concert in D major, Op 21, for piano, violin and string quartet (Sicilienne) Alexander Melnikov, piano Isabelle Faust, violin Salagon Quartet 4 M退lodies, Op 8 No 1 Nocturne No 2 Amour d'antan Nathalie Stutzmann, contralto Inger S怀dergren, piano Symphony in B flat Op 20 (1st mvt) Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Jean Fournet, conductor Po耀me de l'amour et de la mer, Op 19 Jessye Norman, soprano Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo Armin Jordan, conductor Producer: Johannah Smith for BBC Wales Donald Macleod explores Chausson's brief, yet intense friendship with Debussy. | |
| 2018 | A Well-appointed Life | 20180903 | Donald Macleod considers the cultural advantages of Chausson's family circle. Am退d退e-Ernest Chausson grew up in Paris during a period of great political, social and economic upheaval in France. Born in 1855, he was fifteen at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian; he lived through the collapse of the Second Empire and the advent of the Third Republic. However Chausson's family was materially little affected by these dramatic events, quite the opposite in fact. His father profited from the 1850s onwards, working as a building contractor for Baron Haussmann, the man Napoleon III had entrusted to remodel the narrow streets of medieval Paris into wide open boulevards. Even after Napoleon was deposed, the re-construction of the capital city continued. Chausson's bourgeois lifestyle reflects the salon society of the mid nineteenth century, with an extensive art collection adorning the walls of his family's substantial residence at 22 Boulevard de Courcelles a stone's throw from leafy Parc Monceau. Chausson remained in the same mansion with his wife and their three children. Supported by a private income, unlike most artists and musicians within his large circle of acquaintances, he was able to devote himself to composing entirely without any pressure to provide financially for his family. That's not to say that Chausson's life was without a care in the world. Critics saw him as a dilettante rather than a serious musician. His relatively small output reflects the agonies of doubt in his mind. His battle to find his own voice at a time when Wagner had cast a long shadow over French music resulted in his only opera taking almost ten years to complete. This struggle for artistic recognition was only just turning a corner when he died unexpectedly at the age of 44 in 1899. Growing up this stimulating environment, Chausson's education and society encouraged an appreciation for the visual arts, music and the arts that would be hard to match. He read widely, a habit that would lead to some of his most poignant settings of poetic texts. Pi耀ce for cello (or viola) and piano, Op 39 Gary Hoffman, cello Pascal Devoyon, piano S退r退nade italienne, Op 2 no 5 Les papillons,Op 2 no 3 La derni耀re feuille, Op 2 no 4 Chris Pedro Trakas, baritone Ann Murray, mezzo soprano Graham Johnson, piano La caravane Nathalie Stutzmann, contralto Inger S怀dergren, piano Serres chaudes, Op 24 Felicity Lott, soprano Po耀me for violin and orchestra Itzhak Perlman, violin New York Philharmonic Zubin Mehta, conductor Producer: Johannah Smith for BBC Wales | |
| 2018 | Franck's Guiding Hand | 20180904 | Donald Macleod explores the reasons why Chausson struggled so hard to write a symphony. Am退d退e-Ernest Chausson grew up in Paris during a period of great political, social and economic upheaval in France. Born in 1855, he was fifteen at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian; he lived through the collapse of the Second Empire and the advent of the Third Republic. However Chausson's family was materially little affected by these dramatic events, quite the opposite in fact. His father profited from the 1850s onwards, working as a building contractor for Baron Haussmann, the man Napoleon III had entrusted to remodel the narrow streets of medieval Paris into wide open boulevards. Even after Napoleon was deposed, the re-construction of the capital city continued. Chausson's bourgeois lifestyle reflects the salon society of the mid nineteenth century, with an extensive art collection adorning the walls of his family's substantial residence at 22 Boulevard de Courcelles a stone's throw from leafy Parc Monceau. Chausson remained in the same mansion with his wife and their three children. Supported by a private income, unlike most artists and musicians within his large circle of acquaintances, he was able to devote himself to composing entirely without any pressure to provide financially for his family. That's not to say that Chausson's life was without a care in the world. Critics saw him as a dilettante rather than a serious musician. His relatively small output reflects the agonies of doubt in his mind. His battle to find his own voice at a time when Wagner had cast a long shadow over French music resulted in his only opera taking almost ten years to complete. This struggle for artistic recognition was only just turning a corner when he died unexpectedly at the age of 44 in 1899. A trip to hear Wagner and Franck's symphony in D, written by Chausson's much admired teacher at the Paris Conservatoire in 1888, were much in mind when two years later, Chausson took up the challenge of tackling a symphony himself. He could never have anticipated the torture to come. L'aveu, Op 13 no 3 Apaisement, Op 13 no 1 Ann Murray, mezzo soprano Graham Johnson, piano Andante and Allegro Charles Neidich, clarinet Pascal Devoyon, piano Viviane, op 5 Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse Michel Plasson, conductor Piano Trio in G minor, Op 3 (Fourth mvt) Philippe Graffin, violin Chilingirian Quartet Symphony in B flat, Op 20 (Third mvt) Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Jean Fournet, conductor Producer: Johannah Smith for BBC Wales Donald Macleod explores why Chausson struggled to write a symphony. | |
| 2018 | Myths And Legends | 20180907 | Donald Macleod charts Chausson's monumental struggle to complete his operatic masterpiece Le roi Arthus, after almost a decade of endeavour. Am退d退e-Ernest Chausson grew up in Paris during a period of great political, social and economic upheaval in France. Born in 1855, he was fifteen at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian; he lived through the collapse of the Second Empire and the advent of the Third Republic. However Chausson's family was materially little affected by these dramatic events, quite the opposite in fact. His father profited from the 1850s onwards, working as a building contractor for Baron Haussmann, the man Napoleon III had entrusted to remodel the narrow streets of medieval Paris into wide open boulevards. Even after Napoleon was deposed, the re-construction of the capital city continued. Chausson's bourgeois lifestyle reflects the salon society of the mid nineteenth century, with an extensive art collection adorning the walls of his family's substantial residence at 22 Boulevard de Courcelles a stone's throw from leafy Parc Monceau. Chausson remained in the same mansion with his wife and their three children. Supported by a private income, unlike most artists and musicians within his large circle of acquaintances, he was able to devote himself to composing entirely without any pressure to provide financially for his family. That's not to say that Chausson's life was without a care in the world. Critics saw him as a dilettante rather than a serious musician. His relatively small output reflects the agonies of doubt in his mind. His battle to find his own voice at a time when Wagner had cast a long shadow over French music resulted in his only opera taking almost ten years to complete. This struggle for artistic recognition was only just turning a corner when he died unexpectedly at the age of 44 in 1899. Enchanted forests, myths and legends became something of an obsession for the well-read Chausson. His rare forays into the world of theatre display a natural facility for evoking drama in musical form. Little wonder then that his only opera was drawn from the legend of King Arthur. Dans la forꀀt du charme et de l'enchantement , Op 36 no 2 Sandrine Piau, soprano Susan Manoff, piano La Tempꀀte (excerpt) Marie-Ange Todorovitch, soprano Rapha뀀lle Farman, soprano Ensemble Orchestral de Paris Jean-Jacques Kantorow, conductor La L退gende de Ste C退cile (excerpt Act 1, Act 2) Isabelle Vernet, soprano Chorus of Radio France Le roi Arthus (Act 1, Tableau 2, Sc 3 excerpt) G怀sta Winbergh, Lancelot, tenor Teresa Zylis-Gara, Guinevere, soprano Radio France Chorus New Philharmonic Orchestra Armin Jordan, conductor Le roi Arthus (Act 3 Tableau 2, Sc 6 excerpt) Gino Quilico, Arthur, baritone Producer: Johannah Smith for BBC Wales Donald Macleod charts Chausson's struggles with his operatic masterpiece Le roi Arthus. | |
| 2018 | The Art Collector | 20180906 | Donald Macleod explores Chausson's passion for art which he indulged at home in France and on frequent trips to Italy. Am退d退e-Ernest Chausson grew up in Paris during a period of great political, social and economic upheaval in France. Born in 1855, he was fifteen at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian; he lived through the collapse of the Second Empire and the advent of the Third Republic. However Chausson's family was materially little affected by these dramatic events, quite the opposite in fact. His father profited from the 1850s onwards, working as a building contractor for Baron Haussmann, the man Napoleon III had entrusted to remodel the narrow streets of medieval Paris into wide open boulevards. Even after Napoleon was deposed, the re-construction of the capital city continued. Chausson's bourgeois lifestyle reflects the salon society of the mid nineteenth century, with an extensive art collection adorning the walls of his family's substantial residence at 22 Boulevard de Courcelles a stone's throw from leafy Parc Monceau. Chausson remained in the same mansion with his wife and their three children. Supported by a private income, unlike most artists and musicians within his large circle of acquaintances, he was able to devote himself to composing entirely without any pressure to provide financially for his family. That's not to say that Chausson's life was without a care in the world. Critics saw him as a dilettante rather than a serious musician. His relatively small output reflects the agonies of doubt in his mind. His battle to find his own voice at a time when Wagner had cast a long shadow over French music resulted in his only opera taking almost ten years to complete. This struggle for artistic recognition was only just turning a corner when he died unexpectedly at the age of 44 in 1899. La Nuit, Op 11 Brigitte Balleys, mezzo soprano Sandrine Piau, soprano Billy Eidi, piano Chanson perpetuelle Op 37 Salom退 Haller, soprano Le Quatuor Manfred Nicolas Kruger, piano Soir de Fꀀte, Op 32 Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse Michel Plasson, conductor Piano Quartet in A major Op 30 (First movement) Schubert Ensemble La L退gende de Sainte-C退cile, Op 22 (Act 3 Finale) Isabelle Vernet, soprano Chorus of Radio France Ensemble Orchestral de Paris Jean-Jacques Kantorow, conductor Producer: Johannah Smith for BBC Wales Donald Macleod explores Chausson's passion for art and Italy. |