Stéphane Denève becomes only the second artistic director in more than three decades of New World Symphony. (Photo courtesy of NWS)
The New World Symphony's new artistic director, Stéphane Deneve, will lead the NWS Fellows eight times throughout the season in programs inspired by Miami’s tropical landscapes, including this Saturday's opening concert, which features Claude Debussy’s "La mer," Benjamin Britten’s "Four Sea Interludes" and Adolphus Hailstork’s "An American Port of Call," which will be conducted by Molly Turner. Turner, a Chinese-born conductor and composer, and a devoted advocate for contemporary and modern music, is NWS’s first-ever female conducting fellow.
Deneve will also helm Jacques Ibert’s "Escales (Ports of Call),"
The finale of Debussy’s "La mer," will be complemented by visuals inspired by poetry and paintings.
Molly Turner, NWS first ever female conducting fellow, will open Saturday night's program. (Photo courtesy of the artist)
Deneve has said that he would like to include more visuals to work in tandem with the music and he does so in the opening concert, curating an evening of video art along with the symphonic seascapes.
The art for Debussy’s "La mer," he says, was inspired by the excerpt of a poem titled Correspondences from the collection Fleur du Mal (Flowers of Evil) by French poet Charles Baudelaire, according to program notes.
Like prolonged echoes mingling in the distance
In a deep and tenebrous unity,
Vast as the dark of night and as the light of day,
Perfumes, sounds, and colors correspond.
Deneve partnered with Clyde Scott, the creative director of New World Symphony's Media in creating the multi-disciplinary experience.
"Our vision is to find that “deep and tenebrous unity” between sight and sound, where the music is paramount, and the visual elements contribute subtly and meaningfully to enhance the listening experience," the pair described in program notes.
Several different paintings of the ocean, including The Great Wave off Kanagawa, by Hokusai (1831), which was an inspiration for Debussy, will inform the basic visual language and varying levels of abstraction will suggest movement and delicate tension, according to NWS.
Photographer: Kristin Pulido
Stéphane Denève leads New World Symphony at its 2023 gala in March.
In program notes, the pair added: "The poetry collection Fleur du Mal was published in 1857, and Correspondences reflects Baudelaire’s fascination with the interconnectedness between the physical and metaphysical realms. It also explores ideas of synesthesia and the correspondence between the senses and emotion, the human soul and the natural world."
Opening concert 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16. Upcoming in September, New World Symphony's founding artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas returns for two concerts. On Saturday, Sept. 23, he conducts works of Copland and Sibelius. And, on Saturday, Sept. 30, he's joined by pianist Leif Ove Andsnes for a program of Beethoven and Brahms. New World Center, Michael Tilson Thomas Performance Hall, 500 17th St., Miami Beach.
For information and tickets, call 305-673-3331 or go to nws.edu.
