What Do You Have Toulouse?

I’m sure you can name more than a few. There’s quite a history of famous film and stage twosomes. When I started to think about it, these came to mind right away: Laurel and Hardy, Hope and Crosby, Astaire and Rogers. Go ahead and add some others to the list!

How about orchestras paired with conductors? That might be a little tougher. But after listening to classical music on the radio for a while, you become more and more familiar with some rather famous orchestras and their long-time conductors. There’s the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra with Kurt Masur, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with Bernard Haitink, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields with Neville Marriner, and the Orchestre du Capitol de Toulouse with Michel Plasson.

It’s that pairing that caught my attention when we celebrated Plasson’s 81st birthday on October 2. He was at the helm of the orchestra from 1968-2003. His legacy continues through the many recordings they made together. But what about his successors? I have to admit that up until a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea.

I did a little searching. And I learned that the orchestra is now known as the Orchestre national du Capitol de Toulouse. Finnish conductor Tarmo Peltokoski is Music Director Designate. He’ll become Music Director next August, with a contract that extends to 2029.

Peltokoski succeeds Tugan Sokhiev, who led the ensemble from 2008-2022. Sokhiev was born in the Republic of North Ossetia, when it was part of the Soviet Union. He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In a 2022 article by Francisco Salazar at OperaWire, there’s a lengthy statement by Sokhiev, in which he affirmed his dedication to celebrating the cultures of both France and Russia in his directorships of the Toulouse orchestra and the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. He went on to say that in the wake of the events in Ukraine, and unwilling to be pressured to make a choice between the two cultures, he resigned from both posts.

Tarmo Peltokoski is going to make it difficult to be paired with the Orchestre national du Capitol de Toulouse, at least for now. At age 25, he’s also the Music and Artistic Director of the Latvian National Orchestra. Beginning in 2026-2027 he’ll be the Music Director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic. He also serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie of Bremen and the Rotterdam Philharmonic.

French pianist Alexandre Tharaud’s newest recording is a celebration of pairings. It’s titled: Alexandre Tharaud & Friends – Four Hands (Erato 5419793352). There are 22 selections for piano 4-hands. Tharaud is featured on all of them, along with 22 different pianists. Many of the players have made recordings for the same parent record company. That probably makes it easier to have the musicians record together.

In my initial auditioning of all 22 tracks, one in particular jumped out at me. It’s the Galop-Marche by the French scholar and composer Albert Lavignac (1846-1916). The piece was written for piano 8-hands (4 players at one keyboard), but arranged for piano 4-hands. Tharaud performs the work with French pianist Frank Braley. You’ve heard me play some selections from his recording of Beethoven works for piano and cello with Gauthier Capuçon. From the new recording, I’ve also played a spirited rendering of Franz Schubert’s Marche Militaire No. 1 with Tharaud joined by Michel Dalberto.

Other “friends” of Tharaud, whom you may know from hearing them featured on Classic Mornings, include David Fray, Beatrice Rana, Éric Le Sage and Gautier Capuçon – yes, the cellist. And if that comes as a surprise, there’s a selection in which Tharaud is joined by a pianist identified only by the name “Mr Nobody.” 

In the CD notes, Tharaud talks about the idea of bringing the pianists together. He calls it an album of “sheer pleasure” He wanted to include long-time friends, several generations of pianists, and even non-pianists “to show that the joys of the 4-hand repertoire can be shared, simply, with the most varied personalities.” He says that piano 4-hands “creates a remarkable space for play.” It’s a “game” that can be played by those of all ages and at all levels of ability. And he has observed that even the most serious grown-ups become children again.

At home gatherings, Tharaud will invite guests to sit with him at the keyboard. He’ll teach them a tune of just a few notes and then improvise while they play the notes, just to give them a taste of the joy of piano 4-hands. It sounds as if he realized that he and his guests had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

That sounds like a reason for tuning in to Classic Mornings as well! Join us, Monday through Friday from 9-noon on FM 90.9 or online at will.illinois.edu.