Le carnaval d’Aix (The carnival of Aix)

Composer: MILHAUD, Darius
  • *Aix is pronounced “ex”
  • During a tour in America in 1926, Milhaud was expected to write (and perform) a new work for his upcoming appearances at the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony. Milhaud consequently took 12 of the 17 movements from his earlier “ballet chanté,” Salade, and created a work for piano and orchestra.
    • When writing Salade in 1924, Milhaud had just returned from a trip to Sardinia and used some local folk material in his score.
  • The first performance of Le carnaval d’Aix took place in New York, performed by Milhaud and the NY Philharmonic and conducted by Willem Mengelberg, followed by the Boston Symphony conducted by Serge Koussevitsky.
  • The title of each movement:
    1. Le corso
    2. Tartaglia
    3. Isabelle
    4. Rosetta
    5. Le bon et le mauvais tuteur
    6. Corviello
    7. Le capitaine Cartuccia
    8. Polichinelle
    9. Polka
    10. Cinzio
    11. Souvenir de Rio: Tango
    12. Final
  • Fun fact – the format of Le Carnaval d’Aix was likely influenced by Le carnaval des animaux by Saint-Saëns.1
  • Like Suite provençale, the setting for Le carnaval d’Aix was inspired by the composer’s roots in the southern French region.

Sources

  1. Robert Matthew-Walker, Notes in accompanying booklet, Milhaud: Le Carnaval d’Aix & other works performed by Jack Gibbons and the New London Orchestra, conducted by Ronald Corp, Helios 55168, 2004, compact disc.

Cut IDs

13389