“Why am I here with my French accent speaking to you in St. Louis? It’s because of music,” said Stéphane Denève. “There is no other reason. I love music, and my love for sharing it brought me to this town.”
Denève officially becomes the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s musical director when its classical concert season opens this weekend with Mahler’s “Resurrection” in what Denève is calling his “musical wedding.”
“Last year I was like a fiancé, and the welcome that was offered to me by the community was so touching,” Denève said. “And now it’s starting for real.”
He was introduced to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 2003 and returned eight times as a guest conductor. In 2017 he was selected to succeed David Robertson to become the 13th musical director in the symphony’s 139-year history. The season will be marked by what Denève called “creating an arch between” French and American cultures.
“I have been influenced by American music. The influence on France from America is all about jazz,” said Denève. “We will celebrate together what I think is the greatest power of music, which is that it brings us together – sitting together, listening together and breaking barriers.”
St. Louis has welcomed him with open arms. His charm and charisma allow for instant connections. A penchant for observation and humor make him an easy conversationalist – and buck the stereotypes of pretentiousness that tend to haunt the classical music community.
“Like your friend who was in the lobby was wearing on her shirt, I am a hope dealer,” Denève said, paying close attention to the phrase written on Rev. Traci Blackmon’s shirt as he saw her waiting in the lobby of The American.
Before the symphony’s subscription series got underway, Denève conducted a free outdoor concert at Forest Park that brought an estimated 20,000 to Art Hill.
“Coming to St. Louis made me feel like I won a gold medal,” Denève said before the orchestra opened the outdoor concert on September 12 with “The Olympic Anthem,” which combines the compositions of “Bugler’s Dream” by Leo Arnaud, immediately followed by “Olympic Fanfare and Theme” by John Williams.
Over the course of the concert, classical music staples were placed alongside the theme from “Star Wars” and other selections familiar to audiences who may have otherwise considered themselves outsiders to the art form. The crowd responded with rousing applause, raising handheld fans with Denève’s face on the front.
“This is something that I think about when I am conducting a concert,” Denève told The American – “that there is at least one person who is at the symphony for the first time and listening to the music for the first time. It’s a possibility to reveal to this person that there is a lot to discover and enjoy and be inspired by.”
He recalled a pivotal moment in his relationship with music: when he truly connected with a piece by Bach as a 17-year-old pianist in his native France. The reaction of his instructor was a transformative experience.
“He said, ‘You know Stephane, I am very happy for you because I know that you will never be alone,’” Denève said. “This was a revelation for me. I will always have that richness. I will always have possibility. I would love for everybody in our audience to know that.”
He is still moved by the universal feeling that comes with sharing music.
“It’s amazing,” Denève said. “Because what do I have in common being born in the north of France with a Chinese pianist Lang Lang or African trumpeter Hannibal Lokumbe? The background is different. The age is different. The culture is different. And then we get together, we breathe together, and it’s like, ‘One, two, three four’ and play. From that second, we are brothers.”
The woman who recruited him to lead the orchestra feels the same connections.
“What I found remarkable about Stéphane when we first met and later on when we decided to work together is the ways that he makes the music easily understood and he makes people very much at ease,” said Marie-Hélène Bernard, president and CEO of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, who is from French-speaking Quebec. “Because it’s not so much about what you know, but how you feel. There is going to be a big emphasis in the music and programs about themes and connections.”
Bernard and Denève predict that the honeymoon will be never-ending for him at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Bernard is basing her prediction on her four years and counting at the helm of the institution.
“It is not the largest, but it is probably one of the finest,” Bernard said. “The endurance and the resilience of this orchestra is extraordinary, and the music-making here is amazing and the history is fascinating.”
She said that the orchestra, which is the second-oldest in the nation, has taken more risks – on emerging composers and soloists – than most major orchestras.
“If you look at the past 50 or 60 years of programming and history, look at the chances that this institution has taken on emerging artists who are now very established,” Bernard said. “To me it has always spoken to the character of this city. “We have issues. We have problems. But the richness of culture offered to us was really remarkable.”
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s 2019-2020 concert season opens this weekend with Mahler’s “Resurrection” on September 27-28 at Powell Symphony Hall. For tickets or additional information, visit www.slso.org.
