Odyssée

Premiered in 2000 by Frank Braley and the Orchestre National de Lille, the Piano Concerto by the violinist-composer presents itself as his second symphonic work, conceived, in his own words, "like an improvisation". Mirroring this spontaneous genesis, Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1, universally appreciated today, was the fruit of nearly four years of labour, disrupted by the demands of his conducting career. Sketched in 1885, its composition was suspended by his travels to Prague and then to Leipzig. It was in the latter city that he was finally able to finish the score in the spring of 1888, describing this ultimate creative surge as a musical torrent escaping from within him.