“Already as a child, I was enchanted by Albert Roussel's ballet Bacchus and Ariadne,” says Samy Moussa, this season’s composer-in-residence. The concert programme, which draws on ancient Greece and the eternal questions of humanity, is complemented by Moussa's own piece, premiered in 2024, in which Antigone wants to bury her brother who died in battle, even under the threat of the death penalty.
A composer who ‘discovered’ his metier relatively late in life (after a promising career in the Navy), Albert Roussel (1869–1973) was most at home in music for the stage: opera, theatre music and above all ballet. Possibly his most successful work is the two-act ballet Bacchus et Ariane (1930), and the Orchestral Suite No. 2 adapted from it is a favourite showpiece for many a conductor.
Bacchus et Ariane tells the ancient Greek myth of Bacchus, Theseus and Ariadne. Having killed the Minotaur, a beast part man, part bull that dwelt in the Labyrinth, Theseus returns with Ariadne – daughter of the owner of the Labyrinth, King Minos – to the island of Naxos, amid great rejoicing. Then along comes a mysterious figure who envelops Ariadne in his black cloak. Theseus and his followers rush to her assistance, only to discover that the kill-joy is none other than Bacchus, the god of ecstasy and of wine, against whom Theseus is powerless. Bacchus throws himself into a wild dance, in which Ariadne dreams she is taking part.
At the beginning of Act II, Ariadne wakes to find herself alone, for Theseus has sailed away and left her. In her despair, she tries to jump into the waves but ends up in Bacchus’s embrace and finds herself once again dancing in her dreams. A kiss from Bacchus rouses the whole island; figures appear out of the rocks and offer her a sip of an intoxicating drink that puts her under Bacchus’s spell. As they join in a frenzied dance, he raises her to heaven and turns her into a constellation, a crown of stars above her head. The ballet ends with wild, ecstatic carousing.
Roussel’s music, ranging from delicate dreaming to bacchanalian burlesque, is so explicit that the listener hardly needs to know the story. The two Suites follow the original ballet music almost exactly, Suites 1 and 2 being equivalent to Acts I and II.
Composer-conductor Samy Moussa (born 1984 in Canada) is Composer in Residence for the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2024–2025 season. Moussa is one of the leading composers of today, and his works have been featured by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the DSO Berlin, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Wiener Philharmoniker, among others. In the 2024–2025 season, his works are programmed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and Staatskapelle Berlin.
Alongside composing, Samy Moussa has taken up conducting. His repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary music, and he has conducted orchestras such as the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, the MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, the RSO Wien, the Staatskapelle Halle, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Yes, but only before or after the concert. During the concert we just want you to enjoy the music. This way you won’t disturb the musicians or other audience members.
Only the orchestra has a dress code. You can dress as you like.
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