Symphonie espagnole for

B. January 27, 1823, Lille, France

D. April 22, 1892, Paris, France

Scored for solo violin, piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, triangle, snare drum, harp, and strings. (Approx. 31 minutes)

“The piece has been recently brought out by that very modern violinist, Sarasate. It is for solo violin and orchestra, and consists of five independent movements, based upon Spanish folk songs. The work has given me great enjoyment. It is so fresh and light, and contains piquant rhythms and melodies which are beautifully harmonized…Lalo is careful to avoid all that is routinier, seeks new forms without trying to be profound, and is more concerned with musical beauty than with tradition.”

—Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Lalo was a Frenchman of Spanish descent whose love for music developed as a child. At age 16, his father opposed his musical pursuits, and Lalo left for Paris, enrolling in the conservatory to study violin, piano, and composition.

Lalo made a living as a violinist and teacher, but his true desire was composition. In the 1840s, he published a few minor works, but on the whole was not well received. Discouraged, he stopped composing and, in 1855, helped found the Armingaud Quartet, which was instrumental in creating a renewed interest in chamber works, especially in France. The quartet’s purpose was to keep alive the quartets of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, as well as Mendelssohn and Schumann.

A decade later, in 1865, he married singer Julie de Maligny, who encouraged him to return to composition. Finally, in 1872, when he was nearly 50 years old, his Divertissement brought him public recognition. The general fascination with exotic music, particularly from Spain, prompted Lalo to compose two violin works for Spanish virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate. These works, the Violin Concerto of 1874 and the Symphonie espagnole, secured his reputation internationally.

Despite the title, this work actually resembles a dance suite with soloist. Lalo rejected the name “suite;” for him, it was a “worn-out tag.” Instead, he chose “symphony” because, as he expressed, “it conveyed my thoughts—that is to say, a violin soaring above the rigid form of an old symphony.”

The first of the five movements, the Allegro, begins with two measures of an Iberian rhythm. The seductive theme is reminiscent of a Spanish folk song. The Scherzando is a seguidilla in 3/8, the pizzicato strings imitating guitars. Throughout, is Lalos’s signature figure— that of chords played soft-loud, emphatic, and unexpected. The Intermezzo is a sultry habanera, leading to the least Spanish of the movements, the Andante, with its elegant passion. The finale, Rondo: Allegro—Poco più lento—Tempo I, opens with “Spanish shepherds’ pipes” created by woodwinds and harp. The spirited melody is interrupted by a tango-like malgueña and ends with a virtuosic climax.

The DSO most recently performed Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole for Violin and Orchestra in May 2016, conducted by Leonard Slatkin and featuring violinist Joshua Bell. The DSO first performed the piece in January 1920, conducted by Victor Kolar and featuring violinist Francis MacMillen.