Les Siècles (01/10)

Les Siècles, Pierre Bleuse conductor, Rachel Willis-Sørensen soprano, Judith Pisar and Leah Pisar narrators, Philharmonia Chorus, Maîtrise de Radio France. An evening under the banner of "America", combining two great works by Bernstein and Dvořák to honour memory and exile.

Elise Arancio Hommage au soleil (winner of the 2026 Pisar Prize, world premiere). Bernstein Symphony No. 3 "Kaddish", for orchestra, mixed choir, children's choir, narrator and soprano (1963), on the text A Dialogue with God by Samuel Pisar (2003). Dvořák Symphony No.

9 "From the New World", in Aramaic and English, surtitled in French. In a few words: The "Kaddish" symphony premiered in 1963 in Boston, set to a text made up of extracts from the Hebrew Kaddish prayer (the prayer for the dead) alongside sections written by Bernstein himself.

Unsatisfied with the result, Bernstein, towards the end of his life, asked his friend Samuel Pisar, an Auschwitz survivor and great champion of human rights and memory, to write a new text some years later.

It is this version we will hear tonight, in which the American diplomat and writer summons, with incredible force, both his intimate memory and his premonitions of a troubling future. A text that still resonates powerfully with today's world.

It will be read in English by the author's wife and younger daughter. Opening the programme is the premiere of a new piece by young American composer Elise Arancio, the 4th winner of the 2026 Pisar Prize.

In the second half, another great page of exile, Dvořák's "From the New World" symphony, whose melodious, contrasting themes and richly varied orchestration have made its power and popularity. Co-production: Théâtre des Champs-Élysées | Les Siècles.