As one of the leading exponents of musical Impressionism, Debussy's music represents an extraordinarily beautiful palette of colour and harmonic innovation. Commissioned by the Paris Conservatoire the Premiere Rhapsodie was originally a "Solo de Concours" (competition solo) written to test the virtuosic abilities of students at the Conservatoire.
Laden with emotional melodies, rich textures and a huge number of key changes, César Franck’s Piano Quintet is an expressive work that highlights the change in French chamber music at the time of composition.
A rising star in both her native Australia and current home in Paris, Alice Chance's Échappsodie (a made-up word using the French verb échapper — 'to escape') takes fragments of Debussy's Premiere Rhapsodie and constructs them into a colourful masterclass of virtuosity for clarinet and ensemble.
Program
CLAUDE DEBUSSY Premiere Rhapsodie
CESAR FRANCK Piano Quintet
ALICE CHANCE Échappsodie
World Premiere. In a new arrangement by the composer commissioned by Omega Ensemble.
