Bela Bartok: Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56
Franz Schubert: Violin Sonata No.1 in D Major, D. 384
Jules Massenet: Meditation from Thais
Antonio Vivaldi: Rain from Winter (The Four Seasons)
Antonin Dvorak: Sonatina
Rebecca Chaillot: Piano
Baptiste Chaillot: Violin
Another summer weekend in Drôme Provençale, another promising concert lined up, even if my mom and I had to regretfully turn down the invitation to another concert happening at the same time and valiantly go all the way to Colonzelle to attend our preferred option. But then again, where wouldn’t we go for a chance to hear local girl and pianist extraordinaire Rebecca Chaillot, who this time would be accompanied by her Geneva-based violinist brother Baptiste Chaillot as a bonus, in her “petit palais de Chaillot”?
For sure, we had been there before and were happy to make the trek again, especially since we knew for a fact that her “little palace of Chaillot” had been an old rundown house that she has meticulously and gorgeously restored, and in fine turned into an exciting art center where several pianos are strategically scattered and art lovers from all walks of life gratefully converge for concerts, open rehearsals, masterclasses, recordings, exhibits, and more.
During the last couple of summers, we loved attending early evening concerts in the spacious courtyard where her music-making often had to playfully compete with the singing of persistent birds. This year, however, the headlines-making heatwave that had mercilessly lingered over most of France was a game-changer, and we were kindly informed that the concert would take place in the downstairs smaller room, which turned out to be cooler in every possible way (The ideal room temperature! The amazing stone vaulted ceiling! The wonderfully intimate atmosphere!) than the bigger room upstairs or the courtyard outside.
The mood in the reduced space was decidedly informal, but that did not keep the musicians from taking full advantage of the top-notch acoustics and delivering a first-rate recital. No program had been provided, so we relied on our hostess’ descriptions and let the magic of the music do the rest. We started with a Romantic sonatina from Antonin Dvorak, a gentle opening number that made us feel welcome to this relaxed family reunion, where the siblings would brilliantly perform under the watchful eye of their mom.
If the Dvorak’s sonatina had been a nice introduction, Bela Bartok’s fierce Romanian Folk Dances were the perfect opportunity to let countless virtuosic sparks fly all over the place. Overflowing with various musical ingredients from the composer’s native Hungary such as irregular rhythms and infectious melodies, this set of six dances was a divine breath of fresh air on that hot Sunday.
The Bartok tour de force had dazzled us, but it was Schubert’s Violin Sonata No.1 in D Major, D.384 and its subtly evocative clarity that slowly imposed itself as the pièce de resistance of the evening. Cleverly leveraging the kind of synchronicity that can only happen between siblings, Rebecca and Baptiste Chaillot flawlessly brought out the bubbliness and the daintiness, but also the youthful boldness, of this relatively short piece.
A lot of people who are not familiar with Jules Massenet’s opera Thais have heard and fallen in love with his famously show-stopping aria for solo violin “Meditation” anyway. It is therefore not surprising that it is one of the most often performed encores by violinists, and who could blame them? Certainly not the insatiable audience. And sure enough, we all swooned in remarkable unison on Sunday evening in the petit palais de Chaillot.
Next was a wink at the climate challenge we had been facing with the Largo from the winter of The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi. Even if it did not bring us the relief we were all fervently hoping for, that pared-down version and its countless raindrops steadily falling in pizzicato under the solo violin’s catchy melody was a fun little treat.
After having come full circle with another mystery Romantic sonatina by Dvorak, this delightful hour of uplifting music ended in the best possible way, with an informal get-together around cool refreshments, local amuse-bouches and friendly conversation.
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