‘Belgian National Orchestra, Hermus & Vleeshouwers’

Maurice Ravel originally composed Ma Mère l’Oye as a piano duet in 1910 before orchestrating it the following year. Inspired by the fairy-tale world of Charles Perrault, Madame d’Aulnoy, and Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, this work reflects Ravel’s attachment to childhood and the realm of imagination. Dedicated to the children of his friends, Ma Mère l’Oye consists of five movements evoking stories such as Beauty and the Beast and Tom Thumb. The orchestral version, created in 1912 as a ballet, cemented Ravel’s reputation as a master of refinement and orchestral colour.

Hungarian conductor and composer Péter Eötvös, who died in March 2024, has written more than ten operas and also numerous concertos. Speaking Drums is a 2012 percussion concerto whose title should be taken quite literally: the soloist not only plays a variety of percussion instruments but also speaks, growls, roars and screams. Inspired by Indian drummers – who recite texts while playing percussion – Péter Eötvös took as his starting point some nonsense texts by Hungarian poet Sándor Weöres, alongside a 12th-century poem by Indian poet Jayadeva. Dutch multi-percussionist Dominique Vleeshouwers, aka DOMNIQ, guarantees a particularly theatrical concert.

The Belgian National Orchestra concludes this free concert organised as part of the Fête de la Musique with Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3, known as the "Scottish", inspired by the misty landscapes and historic ruins of Scotland. Structured in four uninterrupted movements, this symphony, with its rich orchestration, evokes both the ruggedness of the Scottish land and an elegiac nostalgia.