Symphony Review: A bright, sunshiny day at the opera with the SLSO

We’re still nearly three months away from opening night at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, but last Sunday (March 3) Stéphane Denève and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra decided to “spring ahead” with a consistently entertaining afternoon of opera’s Greatest Orchestra Hits.

[Find out more about the music with my symphony preview.]

The program jumped into high gear immediately with the attention-grabbing fanfare of the “Toccata” from “L’Orfeo” by Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643). It’s generally regarded as the first true opera, a musical genre that (in the words of Maestro Denève) “unites different cultures—which is what music does best.”

From there the concert proceeded more or less chronologically, starting with a pair of overtures to operas based on plays by the multi-talented playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732–1799): “The Marriage of Figaro” by Wolfgang Mozart (1756–1791) and “The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini (1793–1868).  

“Figaro” is, as Denève pointed out, an international work. “Figaro” has a libretto adapted from a French play by Lorenzo da Ponte (born in Venice, died in New York) and music by an Austrian composer; and although it was first performed in Vienna, it became an actual hit in Prague. The fleet-footed reading of this lively work Sunday combined the SLSO’s big sound with the kind of grace and precision that you’d expect from a Mozart-sized orchestra.

Melissa Brooks
Photo courtesy of the SLSO 

The ”Barber” overture was just as brisk and bright. Both works had nifty solo passages by, among others, Jelena Dirks (oboe), Andrea Kaplan (flute), Thomas Jöstlein (horn), Andrew Cuneo (bassoon), and Erin Svoboda-Scott (clarinet). The strings lightly tripped through their parts like Fred Astaire.

Next was the Intermezzo from "Manon Lescaut" Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924. In it, we hear the journey of Manon to the gloomy prison at Le Havre, where she and other disgraced women are being exiled to New Orleans. Opening with quiet solos for cello and viola (played with great sensitivity by Daniel Lee and Beth Guterman Chu, respectively), the work rises to a despairing cri de cœur for full orchestra that, in Denève’s hands, conveyed a powerful emotional impact. It was a reminder that Denève began his career on the operatic stage and has retained his exceptional ability to tell musical stories.

After the first of several stage changes (which Denève humorously described as “the violins going on strike”), Associate Principal Cello Melissa Brooks took center stage for an arrangement for cello and orchestra by (I think) Mathieu Herzog of “Casta Diva” from “Norma” by Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835). Brooks handled the vocal line’s ornamentation with grace and a singing tone. She even dressed for the role with a flowing white top and matching pants that suggested the robe a priestess of the Druidic moon goddess like that which Norma might wear.

The first half of the program concluded with the familiar strains of the “Dance of the Hours” from “La Gioconda” by Amilcare Ponchielli (1834–1886). If you can block out the animation from Disney’s “Fantasia” and/or the voice of Alan Sherman, it’s possible to appreciate what a skillfully constructed and unfailingly melodic work it is. From the delicate violin figures of the opening “Dawn” section to the invigorating con brio of the concluding “Night,” Denève and the band delivered the delightful goods, including many great moments for the high winds.

The second half of the concert opened with another overture, this time to the 1866 opéra comique “Mignon” by Ambroise Thomas (1811–1896). Denève pointed out that in its time “Mignon” was one of the three most popular operas in France, the other two being Gounod’s “Faust” and Bizet’s “Carmen.” These days “Mignon” is remembered only by this lyrical and vivacious overture.

There are extended solos here: clarinet, flute, horn, and harp expertly rendered by, respectively, Scott Andrews, Matthew Roitstein, Roger Kaza, and Katie Ventura. They’re all highly “exposed” (i.e., little or no orchestral accompaniment), so they only work when played with the kind of skill we heard Sunday afternoon.

Next it was a nod and a wink from the podium followed by a spirited “Les Toréadors” from the first of the two orchestral suites assembled by Ernest Guiraud from the score for the aforementioned “Carmen” by Georges Bizet (1838–1875). Then there was another “violin strike” to set the stage for the program’s second soloist, SLSO Associate Concertmaster Erin Schreiber.

Erin Schreiber
Photo courtesy of the SLSO

She was there to perform the 1883 “Carmen Fantasy” for violin and orchestra by the Spanish violinist/composer Pablo de Sarasate. A performer of legendary skill, Sarasate stuffed this mini concerto with technical challenges, including an elaborately ornamented version of the famous “Habanera” and the insanely fast finale, based on the Act II “Danse bohème.” Schreiber has performed this with the SLSO twice in the past (most recently in 2021) but this time was different in that she was using her new violin.

In a talk-back session after the concert, Schreiber related that she had been looking for a new instrument for around five years. Her old violin had served her well for two decades, but she felt that she needed something “a little more powerful.” Last summer she found it: a 1753 Carlo Landolfi. “The moment I played a few notes on it,” she recalled, “I just knew that it was the one.”

 “Violinists,” it has been said, “have special relationships with their instruments, almost like marriages.” Based on Schreiber’s drop-dead stunning performance Sunday, I’d say she has found the right musical partner.  The “Habanera” was seductive, the harmonics crystal clear in the Lento assai vocalise that is Carmen’s teasing response to her arrest, and the frenetic “Danse bohème” was a virtuoso fireworks display. The applause, not surprisingly, was thunderous.

Like Melissa Brooks, Schreiber came costumed for her role. In her case, it was the same long, high-necked red Spanish-style lace dress that she wore in 2021. What could be more appropriate for Carmen?

All too soon, it was time for the finale: a double scoop of Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880): the “Barcarolle” from his “Les contes Hoffmann” (“The Tales of Hoffman,” left unfinished at his death) and selections from the last four numbers from the 1938 ballet “Gaîté Parisienne,” assembled from Offenbach’s operas by French composer/conductor Manuel Rosenthal (1904–2003).

The “Barcarolle” was sweet and lilting, but the selections from the ballet were the real hit, concluding as they did with the “Galop infernal” (a.k.a. “The Can-Can”) from Offenbach’s first hit “Orfée aux enfers” (“Orpheus in the Underworld”) from 1858. Based on this amuse bouche I’d love to hear Denève conduct the complete ballet someday, but meanwhile this was a delightful way to bring the afternoon to a close. Denève encored the “Can-Can,” encouraging the audience to clap along the way the Viennese do to the “Radetzky March” on New Year’s Day. Only a true curmudgeon could fail to join in.

It is, perhaps, somewhat unreasonable to expect music to unite our culturally fragmented world. But after a concert like this one, it at least felt possible. The way things are going these days, I’ll settle for that.

Note: The concert was recorded and will be broadcast on Saturday, March 9, at 7:30 pm on St. Louis Public Radio and Classic 107.3. It will also be available for a limited time afterwards at the SLSO web site.

Next from the SLSO: Anthony Parnther conducts the orchestra for a showing of the Disney film “Encanto” Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm, March 9 and 10. The regular season returns Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3 pm, March 16 and 17, as Stéphane Denève conducts the orchestra in “Picture Studies” by contemporary American composer Adam Schoenberg and selections from the ballet “Romeo and Juliet” by Prokofiev. The Big Muddy Dance Company will perform choreography created for the occasion by Kirven Douthit-Boyd. Both programs take place at the Sifel Theatre downtown.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Symphony Preview: Nights and days at the opera

Summer is usually opera season here in St. Louis but this Sunday (March 3) Stéphane Denève and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra get a jump on it with “Operatic Favorites.” It’s a collection of overtures, intermezzos, and other orchestral bonbons from operas by everyone from Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) to Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924). And tickets are going fast.

[Preview the music with the SLSO's Spotify playlist.]

Here's what’s on the bill of fare.

The “Toccata” that opens Monteverdi’s 1607 “L’Orfeo” is first. It’s essentially three fanfares that serve to introduce the character of La Musica (the spirit of music). She delivers a brief prologue that sets up the story, introduces Orfeo, and concludes with a poetic request for silence as the tale unfolds.  Members of the SLSO haven’t performed this since Opera Theatre presented the opera back in 1997, so a return is long overdue.

Aubrey Allicock and Monica Dewey in
The Marriage of Figaro at Opera Theatre
Photo by Eric Woolsey

Next, it’s the overture to “The Marriage of Figaro” by Wolfgang Mozart (1756–1791). It’s a lively piece that sets the musical stage very effectively for the comic scenes that open this opera, which is based on the second of the three “Figaro” comedies by the multi-talented playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732–1799).  

Next up is the overture to the most popular operatic version of the first “Figaro” play, “The Barber of Seville,” by Gioachino Rossini (1793–1868).  It’s lively stuff as well, even if it was made up of recycled material from two earlier operas, “Aureliano in Palmira” and “Elizabeth, Queen of England.” Of course, I can’t hear the overture these days without thinking of the classic Bugs Bunny cartoon “The Rabbit of Seville,” but maybe that’s just me.

Zoya Gramagin, Taylor P. Comstock in
Manon Lescaut at Winter Opera
Photo: ProPhotoSTL

The mood turns more dramatic with the next two selections: the “Intermezzo” from “Manon Lescaut” by Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) and the great bel canto aria “Casta diva” (“Chaste goddess”) from “Norma” by Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835). The former is a musical picture of the journey of Manon to the grim prison at Le Havre, where she and other courtesans are scheduled for exile in New Orleans. The latter is a plea to the moon goddess for peace by the druid priestess Norma.

Christine Lyons as Norma in
Norma at Winter Opera
Photo: Convergence Media

Sunday, the role of Norma will be played not by a soprano but instead by the instrument of Associate Principal Cellist Melissa Brooks. I’m guessing it’s the arrangement by conductor Mathieu Herzog since that’s the one that shows up most often on YouTube, but it should be in good hands in any case.

Amilcare Ponchielli (1834–1886) was an influential and popular composer in his time, but today his 1876 drama “La Gioconda” is the only one of his operas that’s still performed, and then only at big houses with deep pockets because of its many large and elaborate sets. Most of us know it by the ballet sequence we’ll hear on Sunday, the “Dance of the Hours.” This has been so successfully parodied—first by Walt Disney and then by Alan Sherman—that it might be hard to listen to it without a chuckle, but let’s all do our best, shall we?

The second half of the concert opens with another overture, this time to the 1866 opéra comique (i.e., there’s a happy ending) “Mignon” by Ambroise Thomas (1811–1896). His operas aren’t performed often these days, but the tuneful overture to “Mignon” frequently shows up in recorded collections of overtures and, of course, on programs like this one.

The cast of Carmen
Opera Theatre
Photo: Eric Woolsey

Neither George Bizet (1838–1875) nor his opera “Carmen” need an introduction. Nor, for that matter, does “Les Toréadors” from the first of the two orchestral suites that Bizet’s friend Ernest Guiraud assembled from the score. We’ll hear it this Sunday just before another work derived from Bizet’s opera that does merit a few comments: the 1883 “Carmen Fantasy” for violin and orchestra by the Spanish violinist/composer Pablo de Sarasate.

Sarasate’s skill was legendary, and this mini-concerto bristles with technical challenges, including an elaborately ornamented version of the famous “Habanera” and the insanely fast finale, based on the Act II “Danse bohème.” The last time the SLSO presented the “Carmen Fantasy” Assistant Concertmaster Erin Schreiber blew everyone away with her performance, so it’s good to see that she’ll be the soloist once again.

Finally, we close with two heaping scoops of Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880): the “Barcarolle” from his “Les contes Hoffmann” (“The Tales of Hoffman,” left unfinished at his death) and the “Galop infernal” (a.k.a. “The Can-Can”) from his first hit “Orfée aux enfers” (“Orpheus in the Underworld”) from 1858.

Yes, we have come full circle to the tale of Orpheus. But since it’s an opéra buffon (a comic opera) the myth is played for laughs. In this version, Orpheus is a violin teacher who is more than happy to be rid of his irritating wife Eurydice and has to be bullied into getting her back from Pluto. Jupiter gets involved, lightning bolts are thrown, everybody dances the Can-Can, and all ends happily.

L-R: Anthony Webb as Pittichinaccio,
Brooklyn Snow as Giulietta, and
Emma Sorenson as Nicklausse in
Les contes d'Hoffmann at Union Avenue Opera
Photo by Ron Lindsey

In 1938, French composer/conductor Manuel Rosenthal (1904–2003) assembled some of Offenbach’s Greatest Hits into “Gaîte Parisienne,” a ballet for choreographer Léonide Massine and the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo. This, too, has proved to be boffo both on the stage and on recordings.

The final scene of the ballet combines a brief appearance of the “Galop” along with a longer version of the “Barcarolle.” The program notes suggest that this is what we’ll be hearing Sunday, in which case you might as well check out Rosenthal’s own 1977 recording on Spotify with the Orchestre de L’Opéra de Monte-Carlo for a sneak listen.

That said, nothing on this Sunday’s program requires anything in the way of preparation. Even if you know nothing about opera, this is the kind of music that’s designed to send you off with a shine on your shoes and a melody in your heart, as the old song goes.

The Essentials: Stéphane Denève conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra along with soloists Erin Schreiber (violin) and Melissa Brooks (cello) in a program of orchestral opera selections. The performance takes place at 3 pm on Sunday, March 3 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri–St. Louis campus.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

1764 And All That

Bernard Labadie

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Who: The St. Louis Symphony conducted by Bernard Labadie with soloists Philip Ross (oboe), Andrew Gott (bassoon), Kristin Ahlstrom (violin), and Melissa Brooks (cello)
What: Music of Rameau, Haydn, and Mozart
When: February 21-23, 2014
Where: Powell Symphony Hall

[Find out more about the music with the symphony program notes and my Symphony Preview article.]

Unless you've been holed up on the dark side of the moon lately, you've probably noticed that 2014 is the 250th anniversary of the founding of St. Louis. As a glance at the STL250 web site clearly shows, local celebrations of the event are popping up all over. This weekend the St. Louis Symphony is doing its part with a program that includes works composed between 1763 and 1792, including a Haydn symphony that's almost exactly the same age as our fair city.

Under the expert baton of early music specialist Bernard Labadie, the concerts show just how much variety there can be in a relatively small span of time.

Rameau

The concerts open with a lively suite of dances from Jean-Philippe Rameau's 1763 tragédie en musique "Les Boréades". Rameau was in the final year of his long and productive life when he wrote it (he died in 1764 at the age of 81), so he never saw it performed. No surprise there. What is surprising, as Mr. Labadie points out in his fascinating pre-concert remarks, is that due in part to legal issues over the performance rights, nobody else got to see it either for well over two centuries. Happily, the issues were resolved a decade ago, allowing audiences to enjoy Rameau's tuneful and inventive score.

The suite got a crisp and polished reading from Mr. Labadie and the orchestra. The fanciful "Gavottes pour les heures" was especially fun, with Andrea Kaplan and Ann Choomack on piccolo joining Andrew Cuneo and Henry Skolnick on bassoon (the latter at the very top of their registers) to perfectly conjure up whirling clockwork. The suite is short—two of the dances listed in the program were cut, presumably because of the length of the concert overall—but nicely chosen and thoroughly entertaining.

Up next was Haydn's "Sinfonia concertante in B-flat major," Hob. I:105. A Classical-era revision of the Baroque concerto grosso, works in the sinfonia concertante mold featured an ensemble of solo players with orchestra instead of the single soloist that would later characterize the concerto form. In this case it's a solo quartet: violin, cello, oboe, and bassoon.

Haydn portrait by
Thomas Hardy (1757-c. 1805)

It's the "newest" piece on the program, dating from 1792 and written for the composer's first trip to London, where he was embraced with open arms and open purses as well. A contemporary review raved about it, saying that it "combined with all the excellencies of music" and was "was profound, airy, affecting, and original." That's as good a description as any of this consistently engaging work, with its clear and concise structure (it clocks in at 22 minutes) and Haydn's characteristic good humor.

That good humor is especially apparent in the final movement, in which the violin has to restate the main theme three times before the orchestra "gets it." Symphony annotator Paul Schiavo sees it as a humorous portrayal of a music lesson, although to me it sounded more like an operatic recitative followed by an aria. Either way, the violin and cello get in the last word, with short flourishes at the very tops of their registers just before the final chords.

The solo quartet consists entirely members of the home team: Acting Co-Principal oboe Philip Ross, Associate Principal bassoon Andrew Gott, Associate Principal Second Violin Kirstin Ahlstrom, and Associate Principal cello Melissa Brooks. It's always good to see the local folks in the spotlight, especially when they play with such seemingly effortless grace. Their sound was perfectly balanced, both within the solo group and against the orchestra.

The second half of the concert features symphonies by the two giants of the Classical period, Haydn and Mozart. We begin with Haydn's 1764 "Symphony No. 22 in E-flat major." It's nicknamed "The Philosopher" for any number of reasons, depending on whom you ask. In his post-intermission commentary, Mr. Labadie opined that it refers to the way the dialog between the horns and English horns (the darker-toned cousins of the oboe) in the stately first movement imitates the Socratic "question and answer" style of teaching. To me, the entire movement has always conjured up the image of a thoughtful academic carefully laying out a mathematical proof or explaining a complex philosophical issue. Your mileage may vary.

Here, as in the rest of the program, Mr. Labadie drew fine performances from the orchestra, with tempi that felt historically right. The dialog between horns Thomas Jöstlein and Anna Spina and English horns Cally Banham and Michelle Duskey was right on the money and the third movement Menuetto had a "folk dance" feel that was, I expect, very much what Haydn had in mind.

Detail of Mozart portrait by
Johann Nepomuk della Croce
(1736-1819)

The final work on the program—Mozart's "Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major," K. 543—is the first of a set of three that the composer dashed off in a burst of creativity in the summer of 1788. It gets less attention than the other two, much as a normal human being would be less noticed standing next to a pair of NFL linebackers, but that doesn't make it any less a great composition, neatly melding Baroque counterpoint with Classical clarity.

Mr. Labadie conducted without a score, so it's obviously a work he knows intimately. He gave it a lean, energetic reading that made the most of the work's drama (especially in the Andante con moto second movement) without tipping over into exaggeration. The little Alpine waltz of the Menuetto: Allegretto third movement was most charming as well, lovingly rendered by Scott Andrews and Tim Zavadil on clarinets and answered by Andrea Kaplan on flute.

The concerts repeat today (Saturday) at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, February 22 and 23. The Saturday concert will be broadcast on St. Louis Public Radio 90.7 and HD 1.

Next on the schedule: On Wednesday, February 26, at 7:30 PM David Robertson conducts members of the orchestra in a program of music by Steve Reich in a Pulitzer Series concert at the Pulitzer Center for the Arts, 3716 Washington. Then Juanjo Mena conducts the orchestra with piano soloist Benedetto Lupo in a program of music by Ginastera, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar on Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, February 28 – March 2, at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Symphonic downsizing

Bernard Labadie

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When guest conductor Bernard Labadie takes the podium this weekend, he'll be leading a noticeably downsized St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. But never fear; nobody has been sacked. It's just that he's conducting a program of music written between 1763 and 1792, back when both orchestras and the halls in which they played were substantially smaller than they are now.

Although only three decades separate the earliest work on the program (a suite from Jean-Philippe Rameau's 1763 opera "Les Boréades") from the latest one (Haydn's 1792 "Sinfonia concertante in B-flat major," Hob. I:105), the difference in style is striking. Rameau had a very long and productive life (he died just short of what would have been his 81st birthday in September of 1764) and continued composing in the Baroque style long after it was seen as outdated and unfashionable. The developments in symphonic style heard in the Haydn and Mozart works on this weekend's program largely passed him by. Nevertheless, he remained popular and prosperous right to the end.

Kirstin Ahlstrom

Given that it was written the year before he died, it won't surprise you to learn that Rameau never saw "Les Boréades" performed. What is a little surprising is that nobody who was alive at the time ever saw it performed either. For reasons which are not entirely clear, the first fully staged performance didn't occur until July 1982, at the Aix-en-Provence Festival with early music champion John Eliot Gardiner conducting. The piece is technically a tragédie en musique, which means it's based on a mythological subject and includes a lot of dances. You'll hear eight of them this weekend, including a fanciful "Gavottes pour les heures" in which, as Paul Schiavo writes in his program notes, the composer has the "piccolos whirring over a rhythmically steady accompaniment to imitate the workings of a clock."

Philip Ross

The Haydn "Sinfonia concertante" is next. It dates from a time when the form of the solo concerto was not as well established as it would later become, so works for multiple solo instruments and orchestra were common. Haydn wrote his for the first of his two visits to London, a city that embraced him both artistically and financially (“I made four thousand guilders this evening,” wrote Haydn after the 1795 premiere of his 104th symphony).

It was apparently dashed off quickly, possibly in response to a bit of rivalry. "Londoners had become accustomed to the sinfonia concertante due to the energy of Johann Christian Bach," wrote Scott Fogelsong in the San Francisco Examiner in 2009, "whose many examples stand as some of the finest of the genre. Thus Haydn tossed his hat into the ring with his Sinfonia concertante in B-flat for violin, cello, oboe, and bassoon... His own student Pleyel had been making waves in the London concert scene during the same season, and quite possibly Haydn's work was a direct response to Pleyel's popular works. One gets a sense of Haydn grinning slightly and murmuring OK, hotshot, let the old man show you how it's done."

Andrew Gott

And show them he did. The piece was a hit. "A new concertante from HAYDN combined with all the excellencies of music," enthused the Morning Herald the next day; "it was profound, airy, affecting, and original, and the performance was in unison with the merit of the composition. SALOMON particularly exerted himself on this occasion, in doing justice to the music of his friend HAYDN." The soloists playing those "excellencies" this weekend are all members of the home team: Acting Co-Principal oboe Philip Ross, Associate Principal bassoon Andrew Gott, Associate Principal Second Violin Kirstin Ahlstrom, and Associate Principal cello Melissa Brooks. It's always good to see the local folks in the spotlight.

Melissa Brooks

The second half of the concert features symphonies by the two giants of the Classical period, Haydn and Mozart. We begin with Haydn's "Symphony No. 22 in E-flat major," nicknamed "The Philosopher" possibly because of what the late Harold Truscott described as "the quizzical, semi-ponderous opening Adagio." The name first appears on a 1790 manuscript copy of the score found in Modena, according to Wikipedia, although we don't know who is responsible for it. To me, that opening movement has always conjured up the image of a thoughtful academic carefully laying out a mathematical proof or explaining a complex philosophical issue, so the sobriquet seems right.

Opening a symphony with an Adagio instead of a conventional fast movement with a slow introduction, by the way, was regarded as quite a novel idea when the piece was composed in 1764. "Nobody up to that time had thought of starting a symphony with a noble slow movement," writes Mark Elder in The Guardian, "nor had anybody ever thought of the extraordinary sound that the symphony begins with: a chorale played by two horns and two cor anglais against an incessant pattern of notes in the strings. It all gives this movement a strange, unexpected beauty."

The final work on the program—Mozart's "Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major," K. 543—is the first of a set of three that the composer dashed off in the summer of 1788. Nobody is really certain of the source of what Arthur V. Berger (in a New York City Symphony program note) called the "sudden efflorescence of inspiration" that produced Mozart's last and, in the estimation of many writers, greatest symphonies, but the results speak (or rather sing) for themselves.

K. 543 gets less attention than the other two, much as a normal human being would be less noticed standing next to a pair of NFL linebackers, but that doesn't make it any less a great composition. "This symphony," writes musicologist Andrew Firmer, "is...a prime example of the composer 's genius that he is not only able to conjure up melodies, but weave them with apparent contradictions that seem to connect with impossible ease." Those contradictions include Mozart's assimilation of the contrapuntal techniques he got from the music of Bach and Handel. "It was this synthesis of 'learned' style with the clean clarity of classicism," writes Brian Robins at allmusic.com, "that caused so much trouble for Mozart's contemporaries, to whom his late style became increasingly 'difficult.'" Today, with over two centuries of hindsight, it's clear that this "difficult" music is both ingeniously complex and wonderfully clear.

Labadie with Les Violons du Roy

Finally, a few words about guest conductor Bernard Labadie. The founder of early music ensembles Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec, Labadie is widely regarded as a leading interpreter of music of the 17th and 18th centuries. Reviewing a concert by the former group at London's Barbican Center, the Telegraph called him "[A] fine instinctive musician. He moulds the phrases, plucks out all-important details in the texture and radiates an infectious joy in the music.” So we'll be hearing and expert's take on our Rameau, Haydn and Mozart.

The essentials: Bernard Labadie conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in a suite from Rameau's "Les Boréades," Haydn's "Sinfonia concertante in B-flat major" and "Symphony No. 22 in E-flat major," and Mozart's "Symphony No. 39" in the same key. Performances are Friday at 10:30 AM (a Krispy Kreme coffee concert, with free doughnuts), Saturday at 8 PM, and Sunday at 3 PM, February 21-23, at Powell Hall in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org. The Saturday concert will be broadcast live on St. Louis Public Radio at 90.7 FM, HD 1, and streaming from the station web site. But, of course, it 's best heard live.