In collaboration with the French Embassy, the National Theater of Opera and Ballet organizes the classical concert “Francophone Composers” on 30 March, 19:00 at the Cultural Center of the Orthodox Cathedral in Tirana.

Conducting the NTOB Orchestra will be conductor Martin Lebel, and the concert will feature pieces by French pianist, organist and composer Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), as well as those of Belgian organist and composer César Franck (1822-1890).

 

Program:

 

Pelléas et Mélisande Suite, Op. 80 – Gabriel Fauré (20′)

Prelude – Quasi adagio

Fileuse – Andantino quasi allegretto

Chanson de Mélisande – Molto adagio

Sicilienne – Allegretto molto moderato

La Mort de Mélisande – Molto adagio

***

Symphony in D Minor – César Franck (40’)

Lento – Allegro non troppo

Allegretto (B-flat minor)

Allegro non troppo (D major)

 

Martin Lebel

Martin Lebel is the Musical Director of the Filarmonia de Montevideo and he has also been invited to continue in his position of Musical Director of the Karlovy Vary Orchestra (Czech Republic), a post which he was first offered in 2009.

Martin Lebel was the first French conductor to receive first prize in conducting at the Intenational ‘Prokofiev’ Competition in St Petersburg in 2003. Following this success, he has been invited back to conduct the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra on various occasions.

Since 2003, he has conducted many French and foreign orchestras such as the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Orchestre Symphonique de Saint-Etienne, the Orchestre de Bretagne, the Yekaterinburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra and the Montevideo Orchestra in Uruguay.

Martin Lebel is a universally respected conductor, both within France and further afield, as is evident in his mastery of the symphonic repertoire (Beethoven Symphony No. 9, Schumann Das Paradies und die Peri, Bach St John Passion, Strauss Metamorphosen, Mahler Symphony No. 5, the Beethoven Festival (3 concerts), the Dvorak Festival, Stravinsky Le Sacre du Printemps, etc) as well as his considerable experience as an operatic conductor (Puccini Madame Butterfly, Verdi Falstaff, Verdi Il Trovatore).

A pianist and cellist, Martin Lebel was awarded four separate awards at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris: in fugue, counterpoint, orchestration and conducting.

In 1998 he was a prizewinner at the Dimitri Mitropoulos Orchestra International Conducting Competition in Athens. Before this competition, he perfected his technique in Tanglewood where he was chosen by Séiji Osawa to direct during the festival. He also assisted James Conlon in various productions with the Köln Gürtznich-Orchester and with Opéra Bastille.

In addition to conducting the orchestras of Nancy, Avignon and the Pays de Savoie, he conducted 40 concerts with the Orchestre de Bretagne as their associated young conductor for the 1996-1997 season.

Since 2001, he has been invited regularly to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris to give masterclasses to conducting students, as well as to conduct the Orchestre des Lauréats du Conservatoire (OLC).

He has conducted the premières of various contemporary works on Radio-France, at the Berlin Akademie der Kunst and at the Festival Ars Nova (Brussels). He also conducts the Ensemble Itinéraire. Since 2002, he has also been regularly invited to the Festival Musical d’Automne de Jeunes Interprètes (FMAJI).