Poulenc: Piano Concerto, Organ Concerto & Stabat Mater (Live) London Philharmonic Orchestra & Yannick Nézet-Séguin

• Francis Poulenc (1899-1963): Piano Concerto, FP 146:
• 1 I. Allegretto 09:40
• 2 II. Andante con moto 05:20
• 3 III. Rondo à la française. Presto giocoso 04:05
• Concerto for Organ, Strings & Timpani in G Minor, FP 93:
• 4 I. Andante 03:08
• 5 II. Allegro giocoso 02:05
• 6 III. Subito andante moderato 07:20
• 7 IV. Tempo allegro, molto agitato 02:35
• 8 V. Très calme. Lent 02:27
• 9 VI. Tempo de l'allegro initial 01:55
• 10 VII. Tempo introduction. Largo 02:53
• Stabat Mater, FP 148:
• 11 I. Stabat Mater dolorosa 04:00
• 12 II. Cujus animam gementem 01:04
• 13 III. O quam tristis 02:41
• 14 IV. Quae moerebat et dolebat 01:29
• 15 V. Quis est homo 01:26
• 16 VI. Vidit suum 03:18
• 17 VII. Eja mater 01:05
• 18 VIII. Fac ut ardeat 02:22
• 19 IX. Sancta Mater 03:09
• 20 X. Fac ut portem 03:22
• 21 XI. Inflammatus et accensus 02:00
• 22 XII. Quando corpus 04:46
• Total Runtime 01:12:10

Info for Poulenc: Piano Concerto, Organ Concerto & Stabat Mater (Live)

This release is the sixth on the LPO label conducted by Yannick Nézet-Seguin. The performances on this album, recorded in 2013 and 2014, were part of his final season as Principal Guest Conductor. The Organ Concerto was performed by James O’Donnell as part of the Pull Out All The Stops festival, celebrating the restoration of the Royal Festival Hall organ, which had been out of use since 2005. These performances were very well reviewed at the time: “Yannick Nézet-Séguin is a master-painter and drew a rich spectrum of colours from the London Philharmonic Orchestra to decorate each of these scores in a distinctive way” (Bachtrack). “Yannick Nézet-Séguin [was] alive to the solemn and dramatic aspects of Poulenc’s setting, its radiance, jauntiness, pealing vitality and ritual dance” (Classical Source). The album features performances from star soloists: organist James O’Donnell; soprano Kate Royal; pianist Alexandre Tharaud. The Times said of the Organ Concerto: “under the meticulous direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s strings formed a pale gold halo around the organ as James O’Donnell navigated the crazy-mirror harmonies of Poulenc’s concerto with brisk, unflappable agility.”

Alexandre Tharaud, piano
James O’Donnell, organ
Kate Royal, soprano
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Choir
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

Yannick Nézet-Séguin
was Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 2008-2014. In 2012, he added the Music Directorship of the Philadelphia orchestra to his roles as Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic orchestra and long-time Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain, Montreal, where he has served since 2000. 2017/18 will be his 10th and final season with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and will draw to a close with the orchestra’s centenary celebrations. In 2020/21 he succeeds James Levine as the third Music Director of the Metropolitan opera, New York and remains in post with the Philadelphia Orchestra until at least summer 2026.

Notable operas include Lohengrin at the Wiener Staatsoper and his first Wagnerian production at the Metropolitan opera with performances of Der fliegende Holländer. Orchestral collaborations include projects with the Bayerischer Rundfunk, Wiener Philharmoniker as part of the Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum’s Mozartwoche and the Berliner Philharmoniker in addition to a tour of Asia with the Philadelphia orchestra and a tour of Europe with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Chamber orchestra of Europe. recent Deutsche Grammophon releases include the complete Schumann symphonies and Le Nozze di Figaro with the Chamber orchestra of Europe, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best opera recording. his discography also includes The Rite of Spring and Rachmaninoff variations with Daniil Trifonov and the Philadelphia orchestra; Tchaikovsky with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and lisa Batiashvili and recordings with Rotterdam Philharmonic (eMI Classics, BIS and DG) and Orchestre Métropolitain (AtMA Classique).

Nézet-Séguin studied piano, conducting, composition and chamber music at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec in Montreal and choral conducting at the Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey before going on to study with renowned conductors, such as maestro Carlo Maria Giulini. his honours include Musical America’s Artist of the Year (2016), royal Philharmonic Society Award; Canada’s National Arts Centre Award and the Prix Denise-Pelletier. he holds honorary doctorates from the university of Quebec in Montreal, Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and Westminster Choir College of rider university. he was appointed a Companion of the order of Canada in 2012.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra
is one of the world’s nest orchestras, balancing a long and distinguished history with its present-day position as one of the most dynamic and forward-looking ensembles in the UK. This reputation has been secured by the Orchestra’s performances in the concert hall and opera house, its many award-winning recordings, trail-blazing international tours and wide- ranging educational work.

Founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932, the Orchestra has since been headed by many of the world’s greatest conductors, including Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. Vladimir Jurowski was appointed the Orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor in March 2003, and became Principal Conductor in September 2007. The Orchestra is based at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, where it has been Resident Orchestra since 1992, giving around 30 concerts a season. Each summer it takes up its annual residency at Glyndebourne Festival Opera where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra for over 50 years. The Orchestra performs at venues around the UK and has made numerous international tours, performing to sell-out audiences in America, Europe, Asia and Australasia. The London Philharmonic Orchestra made its first recordings on 10 October 1932, just three days after its rst public performance. It has recorded and broadcast regularly ever since, and in 2005 established its own record label. These recordings are taken mainly from live concerts given by conductors including LPO Principal Conductors from Beecham and Boult, through Haitink, Solti and Tennstedt, to Masur and Jurowski.

This album contains no booklet.