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The Conductor Who Revived the Past: Jean-François Paillard
For experienced fans of classical music,
Jean-François Paillard represents something of an old friend,
while younger listeners may regard his famous name with great interest.
Starting in the middle of the 20th century -- using such a term,
I am reminded somewhat poignantly how it is already the "last" century -- Paillard has unearthed many forgotten pieces by European composers from the 17th and 18th centuries, including those of his native France,
and has breathed new life into them. We at Art Tower Mito are honored to welcome him at the baton of the Mito Chamber Orchestra (MCO).
Most fans of classical music today are thoroughly familiar with such standards as Vivaldi's "The Seasons,"
Pachelbel's "Canon," and pieces by other composers from the same period,
such as Couperin and Rameau. However, we would well be reminded that until the mid-20th century,
those pieces were lumped together as "pre-Bach" music, and were considered rather strange or unusual.
That may be hard to believe for us today, given the sheer amount of Baroque music being heard in commercials and movies.
Largely responsible for the popularity of that repertory were such small ensembles as I Musici,
Karl Munchinger and the Stuttgart Kammerorchestra (Chamber Orchestra), and the Paillard Chamber Orchestra,
directed by Jean-François Paillard.
Unfamiliar as they may be, there are many beautiful melodies in Baroque music,
and they can be delightfully rhythmical, or at times magnificent and religious,
in a way that makes one forget the humdrum realities of life.
For audiences of the latter 20th century -- who began to draw away from and be repelled somewhat by the self-conscious music of the Late Romantics,
which was swollen to an ever more grandiose scale,
as well as the music written by contemporary composers,
who were intent on exploring ever more difficult and incomprehensible avenues -- Baroque music must have come off as quite refreshing at first,
especially when played by small ensembles,
which featured the maneuverability of a compact car.
Then came along such groups as I Musici with their performance of "The Seasons," igniting the boom in Baroque music.
Those groups laid the groundwork for the later revolution represented by musicians performing on period,
original and authentic instruments.
Of all the musicians participating in the Baroque boom of the latter 20th century,
Paillard was perhaps the most scholarly, having penned such books as "French Classical Music."
He invested his passion in reviving unknown works from the past,
particularly those by French composers. Such was the popularity of his recordings,
produced successively under the French Erato label in elegant-looking album covers and CD cases,
that many of his fans even lined up on the day of their release to purchase them.
In particular, with his "Chateaux et Cathedrales" series of LPs, Paillard pulled off a great feat that filled in a lacuna in musical history.
In that series, he recreated concerts of lore at famous locations such as the Palace of Versailles or the Chateau de Chenonceau,
under the supposition that they would have once taken place there. Not only was the programming a superb idea,
but the liner notes were also painstakingly detailed (many of which Paillard wrote himself).
Sorry to have taken so long for the introduction; let me now get to the main point:
Jean-François Paillard will serve as the guest conductor of the Mito Chamber Orchestra (MCO) at its 46th Regular Concert.
The program will focus on a contrast of French music in the 18th and 20th centuries.
To get a better idea of what he was attempting to do and to find out more about him as a person,
he was interviewed through e-mail by Takaki Yazawa,
chief producer of the ATM Concert Hall and editor of "vivo" (ATM's music newsletter).
We were surprised at how easily this 70-year-old man took to using a computer!
Interview with Jean-François Paillard
Q. Maestro Paillard, we would first like to extend you a hearty welcome to Mito and to the Mito Chamber Orchestra (MCO).
It was great pleasure and honor for us to have you attend MCO's concert at Salle Pleyel in Paris.
How did you feel about our orchestra and its performance?
A. I was very impressed by this concert! Seldom have I heard such a precise, living and colorful sound.
All the musicians were first-class players, and that was underscored for the audience when the musicians exchanged seats between pieces,
with the second violins moving up to become first violins, the solo viola going to the last seat, and so on.
I also deeply admire the continued dynamism of Maestro Seiji Ozawa, and it is a great pleasure -- and,
at the same time, a great challenge -- to succeed him in conducting this superlative group.
Q. I would like to hear more about your life history. From your profile,
we know that you studied mathematics at Sorbonne University before specializing in music.
Of course, there has been a close connection between mathematics and music from the time of ancient Greece.
But I think it was a courageous decision for you to change your major to music,
especially given the way the 20th century saw the various branches of learning break down into so many tiny parts.
What was your reason to make such a decision?
A. When one is a young man with a love for many things in life,
it is not easy to find one's true path immediately -- in fact,
life itself and the circumstances surrounding it are often the guide.
From my early childhood I was fascinated by music, but during World War II,
my family and I evacuated to western France, and I was unable to study in the Paris Conservatoire.
At the end the war, people told me, "It's too late for you to become a musician!"
So I became a conductor!
Q. It was surprising for me to hear that you are also a scientist and an astronomer.
What gave you such a broad way of thinking, in the manner of a Renaissance man?
A. There are so many fascinating things in our short lives! When younger, I
was also an aircraft pilot and a mountain climber.
Now I have become a sailor once again (I went around Cape Horn in South America three years ago).
But, it is true that astronomy seems to me to be one of the greatest human activities.
I had the chance to study in Sorbonne with several great astronomers,
and I continue to correspond with some of them.
They were kind enough to put a computer program of mine about astrometry on the Paris Observatory server (ftp://ftp.bdl.fr/pub/misc/invited/NTastro).
Needless to say, I am also in love with computers!
Q. You are quite famous for having revived French classical music through your performances and writing.
Would you please tell me what elements in that music -- rather unknown until that time -- fascinated you?
A. While classical French music does not have so many famous composers as Bach or Vivaldi,
it has first-rank ones such as Rameau and Leclair, whose highly original, creative,
and fresh music is a pity to ignore. I am glad to have assisted them in their journey from the library to the concert hall once again.
Q. When you founded the Paillard Chamber Orchestra, much of your audience must have been unfamiliar with the music of the 17th and 18th centuries.
What was their reaction to the music you introduced?
A. In the 1950s, the chamber orchestra was not a familiar concept for audiences.
A few years before that, it was again not uncommon for Bach suites to be played with a hundred musicians!
Musicology has taught us that classical orchestras were much smaller,
and that small groups are the only way to render the works of that period correctly.
That brought a radical change in the interpretation, and the success was immediate and considerable.
You must remember that few people knew Vivaldi's "Seasons" at that time!
Q. Would you please tell me which of your recordings left the biggest impression on you?
For example, the "Chateaux et Cathedrales" series was very impressive to me because of its wonderful performances,
excellent ideas and your interesting liner notes. I think it is a milestone in recording history. Luckily,
we can buy those recordings today as CDs in Japan.
How did you come up with such a unique and wonderful idea?
A. I have recorded so many pieces that I cannot say which ones were the most important to me.
To name only a few, I would like to cite the integral recording of Rameau's opera,
"Les Indes Galantes," which I regret is no longer on sale.
Another great remembrance is the recording of the later Mozart symphonies with the English Chamber Orchestra in London.
The idea of "Chateaux et Cathedrales" was not mine, but that of the late Michel Garcin,
who was the wonderful artistic director of Erato for some 40 years.
Of course, I cooperated with him a lot in this collection,
spending much time in libraries finding the original scores played in these major monuments,
taking microfilms, assembling scores, and finally, after months of work, recording them.
Q. During the time your chamber orchestra was active in the 1960s and 1970s,
the movement to play music on period instruments started to pick up steam.
What do you think about that movement?
A. Very often, people ask me what I think about the current evolution of the interpretation of the Baroque music.
In the 1950s, I was one of the first persons to make an extensive search in European libraries for scores and treatises from the 18th century,
and I am happy to see that more and more people are concerned by the style of this music.
But I think that much of the current way is more of a mode than something really authentic.
I see nothing in the documents of this epoch that justify the excesses of some of the so-called "authentic" interpretations.
More, the most important thing for me is not to make history -- we don't live in a museum.
If we like Vivaldi, it is not because he lived three centuries ago, but because his music sounds real and refreshing to us.
Q. Your program for MCO is very interesting, because it includes both classical and neo-classical music.
We would like to know about your ideas and concepts.
A. My idea about this program was to make it as varied as possible,
and to embrace the wide panorama of French music.
I think that with the colorful dances suite of "Les Indes Galantes" and the extremely brilliant violin concerto of Leclair,
18th-century French music is well represented.
The second part of the concert is totally different, featuring contrasting works from the 20th century.
True, Falla is Spanish, not French, but permanent contacts were made in the interval between the two world wars (1918-1939) by composers on both sides of the Pyrenees.
I will then contrast that harsh, dark piece with the smiling Petite Suite of Debussy.
Lastly I will lead MCO in Honegger's Second Symphony, which is too rarely played in
concerts. This powerful work, composed in 1942 during World War II,
begins with the tragic feelings of the period,
but ends with the illumination of a radiant chorale sustained by a trumpet.
Q. Maestro, do you have any words for the audience in Mito before your first appearance here?
A. I feel very honored to be able to conduct such a fine orchestra,
and I hope to share some privileged moments with you.
It is worthy to note that Paillard used the word "Baroque" only once in the interview above.
He avoids it because he believes that the word "baroque," which means an "irregularly-shaped pearl,"
is not appropriate to describe the music of France.
The foreword to his book on French classical music reads as follows:
"The Palace of Versailles does have its Baroque elements,
but does the arrangement of garden rocks in the bushes really upset the order of Le Notre's garden?
Just because French musicians sometimes wore costumes that came from across the mountains (i.e., Italy),
one cannot fail to sense their strong desire or will toward classicism,
in a way that distinguishes them from other countries' musicians."
That is a pride-filled proclamation concerning the musical culture of his own country.
Paillard believes that "Baroque music" is something to be found only in countries such as Italy and Germany.
Jointly with MCO, Paillard has put together a program of French music that comprises two very different centuries.
We would very much enjoy having you come listen to various pieces of music that are all underscored by the same aim for classicism,
which are clear and distinct in the French fashion,
and which stimulate the senses in an agreeable way.
Mito Chamber Orchestra is greatfully supported by substantial contributions from
Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Supported by:
Zaidanhojin Genden Fureai Ibaraki Zaidan
Cooperation:
All Nippon Airways (ANA)
Copyright ©2001 Mito Arts Foundation. All Rights Reserved. Created by TK.
Mail to: webstaff@arttowermito.or.jp
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