Toronto Symphony fantastique in French program
“With the right conductor, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is as good as the world’s best orchestras. They handed an enraptured audience the proof at Roy Thomson Hall on Wednesday night with the help of guest French conductor Stéphane Denève.” (…) “Denève managed to saturate the already colourful and theatrical music with even more colour and imbue it with a master storyteller’s sense of spontaneity.” (…) “Then came the pièce de...
Read MorePOULENC Stabat Mater / Les Biches
Stéphane Dénève, the new principal conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra of SWR, makes his debut recording with a thoughtful and exceptionally well-balanced program of music by the French composer Francis Poulenc. As has been said many times before, Poulenc was both a monk and a rascal; deeply religious one hand, while enjoying celebrity and flamboyant lifestyle on the other. These two sides of his personality are beautifully represented in the program of this CD. First off, there is the...
Read MoreBBCSO / Denève
“As for the music, under Stéphane Denève’s nimble baton each tale was as colourful and comforting as an illustration from a long-lost childhood book.” (…) “Again, under Denève the orchestral playing was pacy and vivid, and the choral singing was vibrant.” (…) Erica Jeal The Guardian click to see a pdf of the full review Download (PDF,...
Read More“Stéphane Denève in Paris: no better conductor alive for French music”
“(…) It might seem reductive to limit a musician to national specialities, but having heard Denève’s Berlioz, Debussy and Roussel in concert, his captivating disc of Poulenc with the Stuttgart orchestra he commands and now his Ravel, I can honestly say there’s no conductor alive I’d rather hear in French music.” (…) “Denève, who had scattered brisk, sensuous stardust over his orchestra from the start, underlined Poulenc’s gravely beautiful...
Read MoreFrench conductor nods to Munch, brings rarities to Boston Symphony Orchestra
“Based on his skills, his career station, and his evident rapport with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the French conductor Stéphane Denève is rumored to be one of the candidates under consideration for the music director post. (…) [Denève] has brought with him a clutch of French rarities he admires, beginning with Berlioz’s Overture to “Les Francs-Juges” (…) With a boldly drawn performance, Denève made an eloquent case for hearing this very early work...
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Stéphane's Orchestras
