Time regained

César Franck’s Violin Sonata in A major had a lasting impact on the world of chamber music at the turn of the twentieth century. Proust is said to have drawn inspiration from it for the ‘Vinteuil Sonata’ – the fictional musical work described in Un Amour de Swann, in which the character Charles Swann associates a musical phrase in the piece with his love for Odette de Crécy. Nadia Boulanger was born the same year as the Paris premiere of Franck’s work (1887). While she was committed to a legacy in which Franck’s name was not to be ignored, she was also influenced by the revolution brought about by Debussy. Underlining the undeniable contribution of the latter, she said something that seems to sum up the heritage and the innovation of the French school at the beginning of the century: ‘Debussy était déjà Debussy, alors que Brahms était encore Brahms’ (‘Debussy was already Debussy, while Brahms was still Brahms’).

Concert followed by a cocktail.