The Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France and Marie

Live from the Auditorium of the Maison de la Radio et de la Musique.

Program

First part

The concert tonight is part of SuperPhonics, an operation aimed at introducing middle and high school students to contemporary music by letting them listen to recent works and organizing meetings with composers of all styles and genres. This operation, which has been around since 2000, now reaches over 5000 young people from 135 institutions! Each year, it culminates in a day where the votes of the students are announced, and the winning piece from the previous year is performed – this year being “N43” by Elisabeth Angot, offering a poetic journey in a sound landscape.

– Elisabeth Angot (born in 1988): “N43” Commissioned by the Maison de la Musique Contemporaine for the 2025 SuperPhonics winners – world premiere Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France Conductor: Simone Young

The Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Prokofiev is a youthful composition that he later revised. Before this, Prokofiev had a first piano concerto from 1912, which he considered his “first relatively mature composition.” Following this, he immediately composed a second concerto in 1913, showcasing a formidable sense of wildness and youth.

– Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953): Piano Concerto No. 2 Marie-Ange Nguci, piano Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France Conductor: Simone Young

Intermission

Interview with composer Elisabeth Angot, winner of SuperPhonics 2025, and Estelle Lowry, director of the Maison de la musique contemporaine.

Second part

To understand the genesis of Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World'”, go back to 1892 when Antonín Dvořák took over as the director of the New York Conservatory. Inspired by the new musical sources he found in America, Dvořák began composing the symphony in January 1893, completing it by May 24. He noted on the manuscript “From the New World” and stated, “I simply wrote down native themes and gave them the manner of Negro melodies, employing all the resources of rhythm, harmony, and orchestration…” This symphony is a Czech music expressing his experience in America.

– Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904): “Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World'” Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France Conductor: Simone Young

Find all Radio France concerts at maisondelaradioetdelamusique.fr