At La Seine Musicale, a happy hour to rediscover classical music

We all love classical music: who hasn’t been moved by Mozart’s symphonies, Chopin’s piano concertos or Verdi’s La Traviata? The problem is that for many of us, this music is tinged with an elitist side and remains difficult to understand.

To break down these prejudices and offer us a new look at these masterpieces, the Seine Musicale in Boulogne-Billancourt is launching an original format called “Do you think it’s classical?”, a series of five one-hour-and-15-minute concerts to be enjoyed as a couple, with family or with friends before dinner, on Saturdays at 6 pm.

Classical music concerts to discover and understand styles and composers

Mathieu Herzog is a renowned conductor. Violist, composer, orchestrator… he has given more than 1000 concerts! He proposes a series of pedagogical concerts that will be like gateways to classical music. For a whole hour, he will give you the keys to understanding a composer’s intention before performing a complete work with his orchestra Appassionato.

Did you know, for example, that the song Les Feuilles Mortes by Prévert and Kosma is made up of a sequence of chords from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons? These are the kinds of anecdotes that these concerts will help you discover, giving you a whole new perspective on classical music!

And to make it even more relaxed, these concerts are free seating, allowing you to choose the place in the hall where you want to enjoy this moment.

And afterwards? Around the Seguin Island, many gourmet addresses await you for an aperitif or a dinner!

The program Do you think it’s classical? at La Seine Musicale

Five concerts are proposed over the 2022 / 2023 season devoted, each time, to different composers:

• Mozart, the Great Symphonies, Saturday, October 15, 2022 at 6pm

Mozart’s works are among the most famous in the world. In this concert, Matthieu Herzog and Appassionato focus on his last two symphonies: Nos. 40 and 41. The first one is feverish, the second one is lightning! What ingredients did Mozart put into these two symphonies? And how does he manage to charm us? Discover Mozart’s secrets in this didactic concert!

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• Chopin, the Piano Concertos, Saturday November 19, 2022 at 6pm

If music allows us to retranscribe emotions, the piano has been the preferred instrument to translate the most sensitive feelings, especially in the 19th century. Chopin, with his piano concertos, also expressed his feelings, as in Concerto No. 2, Op. 21, which evokes a youthful love that remained secret.

Pianist Nathanaël Gouin will accompany Mathieu Herzog and Appassionato to guide you through the making of these scores.

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• Tchaikovsky’s ballets, Saturday, January 21, 2023, at 6pm

Did you know that Tchaikovsky’s most famous ballets (Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty) are the result of biographical events? During this concert, Matthieu Herzog and Appassionato will give you the keys to understanding these masterpieces!

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• Verdi’s La Traviata, Saturday, April 15, 2023, at 6pm

Matthieu Herzog examines Verdi’s La Traviata, one of the most famous operas with a perfect score. The opportunity to present a set of hits that will surely stay in your head for a while after this concert!

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• The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Paul Dukas, Saturday June 3, 2023 at 7pm

This masterpiece popularized by its use in Walt Disney’s “Fantasia” is now more famous than its creator! It must be said that everything is magical in this music where the orchestra unleashes a whirlwind of images and sensations. Matthieu Herzog and the Appassionato Orchestra will guide you in the (re)discovery of this hit.

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Article in collaboration with La Seine Musicale

Antoine Vitek

Happy father of Culturez-vous! I am passionate about art, culture, heritage and travel.

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