Working with lesser-known works is part of Orchestre Consuelo's DNA. Tchaikovsky's orchestral suites are rarely performed and hardly ever recorded, which is one of the reasons Consuelo decided to take on the project.
On an artistic level, Victor points out that these are mature works that the musicians appreciate: "There's something familiar about these suites for the orchestra because it's truly Tchaikovsky's style. There is both very precise, skillful writing and moments of lightness, with short passages, waltzes, and evocations of childhood."
Suites No. 1 and No. 2 were recorded in early 2024 at La Seine Musicale and will be released in February 2025, coinciding with Consuelo's first invitation to the Philharmonie de Paris.
Complete orchestral suites
15.09.2024 Besançon-Franche Comté Festival
12.02.2025 Philharmonie de Paris
This ambitious project began with a meeting between Consuelo and Boris Blanco, General Director of the prestigious Festival de la Chaise-Dieu. Blanco offered Victor Julien-Laferrière and his orchestra a four-year residency (2023-2026).
Starting in 2023, Consuelo recorded Beethoven's Symphonies No. 1, 2, and 4 in the Chaise-Dieu abbey church, with the first CD set to be released in early September 2024.
For Victor Julien-Laferrière, beyond the opportunity offered by the residency, "having the chance to play and record the complete symphonies is a luxury that cannot be refused (...) the cycle of Beethoven symphonies is a must for every orchestra." Each symphony is a world unto itself, yet it reveals the composer's constant tension between the desire not to deny inherited forms and the rebellious need to reshape them. The next recording, featuring Symphonies No. 5, 6, and 8, is scheduled for August 25 and 26, 2024.
Complete symphonies
29.05 Música dos Capuchos Festival - Almada, Portugal
06.06 Les Athéniennes - Geneva, Switzerland
07.06 Sully-sur-Loire Festival
24.06 Cour du Palais synodal - Sens
28.06 Théâtre de Sens
29.06 Classique au vert Festival - Paris
07.07 Théâtre de Sens
12.07 Musique et Nature en Bauges Festival - Annecy
16.08 Rocamadour Festival
23.08 Opéra de Vichy
25 et 26.08 La Chaise-Dieu Festival
30 et 31.08 Rencontres Musicales de Nîmes