Gourdon is a medieval town in the Lot department of France. The town itself features a fortified gate, narrow winding streets, castle remains and half-timbered houses, but the surrounding ‘pays’ also has much of interest including some excellent walks and caves with prehistoric paintings and spectacular stalactites.

Gourdon

Porte du Majou, Gourdon

House in Rue du Majou, Gourdon

Chapelle Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, Gourdon

La chapelle du sanctuaire, Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, Gourdon

The caves of Cougnac, just north of Gourdon, were discovered in 1949 and 1952. The first cave is full of impressive stalactites and stalagmites. Scientific dating indicates that many of Cougnac’s speleothems are tens to hundreds of thousands of years old. The second, much larger, cave complex is not only full of speleothems but also contains numerous impressive prehistoric paintings of ibexes, mammoths, large deer and human figures. Dating back 30,000 years, they are among the oldest drawings accessible to the public.

Cougnac caves stalactites

Cougnac caves animal paintings

Bilbao Fine Arts Museum has received on loan an exceptional set of fifty-four works by German painter and sculptor Max Ernst (1891 – 1976), including fourteen paintings, six drawings and thirty-four collotypes that are part of the ‘Histoire naturelle’ portfolio. With the exception of one frottage dated from 1957, all the works were made between 1922 and 1928, a stage of experimentation in the artist’s career in which he evolved from his initial interest in Dadaism towards Surrealism. 

Max Ernst

The works come from the private collection of the grandson of the prestigious English gallery owner Aram Mouradian, who had purchased them both directly from the artist and from third parties.

Max Ernst ‘ Two Young Girls in Beautiful Graceful Poses’ (1924)

Max Ernst ‘Hands on Birds’ (1925)

Max Ernst ‘Flower Shells’ (1925)

Max Ernst ‘Teenage Lightning’ (Histoire Naturelle, 1925)

Max Ernst ‘The Fugitive’ (Histoire Naturelle, 1925)

Max Ernst ‘Forest and Blue Sun’ (1927)

Max Ernst ‘Young People Trampling on their Mother’ (1927)

Max Ernst ‘Bird Head’ (1934 – 35)

In Bilbao, Spain, at the Museo de Bellas Artes for the exhibition ‘From El Greco to Zuloaga. Masterpieces of Spanish Art’. The exhibition surveys four centuries of Spanish art and highlights two of the most significant genres from the period, portraits and religious art, although there are also important examples of still lifes and landscape paintings.

Alonso Sanchez Coello ‘Juana of Austria, Princess of Portugal’ (c.1557)

Juan de Anchieta ‘Calvary’ (c.1576 – 80)

El Greco ‘The Annunciation’ (c.1596 – 1600)

Juan Pantoja de la Cruz ‘Prince Philip Emmanuel of Savoy’ (c.1604)

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ‘Saint Peter in Tears’ (c.1650 – 55)

Francisco de Zurbaran ‘Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia’ (c.1650 – 60)

Juan Pascual de Mena ‘Delorosa’ (c.1754 – 56)

Luis Meléndez ‘Still life with Fruit and a Jug’ (c.1773)

Francisco de Goya ‘Martin Zapater’ (1797)

Mariano Fortuny ‘The Bullring of Seville’ (c.1870)

Anselmo Guinea ‘Portrait of a Woman’ (1894)

Ignacio Zuloaga ‘Mrs Rosita Gutiérrez’ (c.1914 – 1)

Pedro Berruguete ‘The Annunciation’

Also on display, although not part of the exhibition, was Pedro Berruguete’s ‘The Annunciation’, which has recently undergone restoration. Painted c.1485 – 90, it was probably part of an altarpiece with scenes from the life of the Virgin, perhaps for a church in Palencia in Castille and León.

Pedro Berruguete ‘The Annunciation’ (c.1485 – 90)

Part of the Festival Ravel in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, this was a fascinating concert with a theme of orchestrations. Parts of Robert Schumann’s solo piano work ‘Carnaval’ were orchestrated by Maurice Ravel; Ravel’s own ‘Sonata for Violin no. 2’ was orchestrated by Yan Maresz; with the main work on the programme being Ravel’s orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’.

Schumann wrote ‘Carnaval’ in 1834-1835 in Leipzig as a suite of 21 short pieces for piano representing masked revelers at a carnival festival. In 1914 Nijinsky asked Ravel to orchestrate the suite for the Ballets Russes but the project was aborted and only four movements survive. Although the surviving excerpts make a short work they use an imaginative rich colour palette and it provided a lively start to the evening.

Yan Maresz was commissioned by violinist Renaud Capuçon in 2016 to orchestrate Ravel’s second violin sonata The violin part is almost identical to the original piece whilst the piano part has been orchestrated very much in Ravel’s own style. The soloist for this performance was the excellent German violinist Veronika Eberle who played beautifully and with great sensitivity.

Veronika Eberle (photo.© Louie Thain)

The highlight of the concert was Ravel’s orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’, one of my favourite works to hear live. The original work was composed in 1874 as a piano suite in ten movements with a recurring Promenade theme. Mussorgsky wrote it in memory of his friend the artist Viktor Hartmann who had died suddenly the year before, aged only 39. The movements that make up the work correspond to pictures painted by Hartmann, with the Promenade representing the walk between them. It has been orchestrated several times but it is Ravel’s, from 1922, that is best known and most often performed and recorded.

It was an excellent performance by the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine under the direction of Joseph Swensen. The brass and percussion were particularly impressive, especially in the opening Promenade and the majestic final movement, ‘The Great Gate of Kyiv’ with its triumphant finale. It brought to an end a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Viktor Hartmann ‘Plan for a city gate in Kiev’ (1869)

In the picturesque Basque fishing port of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, near the French – Spanish border, for the annual Festival Ravel.

Maurice Ravel was born in 1875 in Ciboure, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and would often return to the area to spend summers. Now, for over two weeks every year, the festival that bears his name welcomes visitors for classical concerts which attract some of the world’s best-known performers.

Saint-Jean-de-Luz is renowned for its history and its architectural heritage. Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Jean-de-Luz was the site of the marriage, in June 1660, of King Louis XIV and Maria Theresa of Spain, which brought about a reconciliation between France and Spain. The church is also notable for its monumental altarpiece in carved gilded wood, installed in 1669.

Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Jean-de-Luz

Altarpiece of Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste

Exploring the Parc naturel régional des Causses du Quercy, created in 1999 and designated a UNESCO Global Geopark. UNESCO Global Geoparks are geographical areas which contain sites and landscapes of international geological significance. The Causses du Quercy are in the south-western foothills of the Massif Central in south-west France and are internationally renowned for their biodiversity and cultural heritage.

The towns and villages of the Causses are extremely picturesque and many are designated as Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. The Causses are criss-crossed by numerous trails that allow hikers to discover the nature and heritage of the region.

Espédaillac

Loubressac

Carennac

Autoire

Particularly enjoyable was a walk in Le Marais de Bonnefont, near Mayrinhac-Lentour. The Marais, classified as a Réserve Naturelle Régionale, is a 42-hectare site containing a vast reed bed and alkaline peat marsh, making it a wetland and dryland home to an enormous array of species of wildlife.

Le Marais de Bonnefont, Réserve Naturelle Régionale

At the Salle de l’horloge in Gramat, in the Lot department in south-west France, for a concert of quintets by Robert Schumann and Antonin Dvořák.

Quatuor Cordes et Ames were formed about fifteen years ago by four musicians from the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. They now comprise violinists Kristi Gjezy and Mary Randles, violist Isabelle Mension and cellist Gael Seydoux. For these quintets they were joined by pianist Eloise Urbain.

Quatuor Cordes et Ames and Eloise Urbain

Composed in 1842, Schumann’s ‘Piano Quintet in E-flat major’ was performed for the first time a year later with Clara Schumann at the piano. This four-movement quintet is considered one of his finest compositions and it established the piano quintet as a definitive part of the Romantic genre. Whilst the Quartet performed it admirably there were times when I felt that they were playing individually rather than as a collective, which is strange given that it has been a regular part of their repertoire for several years.

However, there were no such complaints about their performance of Dvořák’s Piano Quintet no. 2 in the second half, which was really excellent. Dvořák composed his second piano quintet in 1887 and it was premiered the following year. It came about after he decided to rewrite his ‘Piano Quintet no.1’ from 1872, as he had grown dissatisfied with it. However, rather than submit a revised score he eventually decided to write a new work. Full of references to Czech folk music, the quintet is now acknowledged as one of the masterpieces of the form.

Robert Schumann: ‘Piano Quintet in E-flat major’, opus 44; Antonin Dvořák: ‘Piano Quintet no. 2 in A major’, opus 81.

Whilst I have seen Renaud Capuçon play violin many times, I think this is the first time I have seen him as conductor and it was fascinating to witness his style. However, what made the programme of this concert so exciting is that in addition to works by Charlotte Sohy and Antonin Dvořák, Beethoven’s ‘Piano Concerto no.1’ was played by legendary pianist Martha Argerich, widely regarded as the greatest living pianist today.

The evening began with Charlotte Sohy’s ‘Dance mystique’, which I had never heard before. Charlotte Sohy was born Charlotte Durey in Paris in 1887 into an affluent family and was introduced to the musical world at an early age, becoming friends with Nadia Boulanger. When she became a composer, aware of the obstacles faced by women in that profession, she used her grandfather Charles Sohy’s name as a pseudonym. She composed a symphony and other orchestral works as well as pieces for piano and string quartet. Her compositions were performed by Paul Dukas, Maurice Ravel and Gabriel Fauré.

‘Danse Mystique’ is an extremely original and rhythmic piece; a sacred, then almost euphoric dance to welcome the dawn. It is richly textured and quite mysterious in places and was played extremely well by the Orchestre Nationale Capitole Toulouse, providing a very pleasant start to the programme.

The first half continued with Beethoven’s ‘Piano Concerto no. 1’. It was written in 1795 and revised in 1800, and was actually completed after the second concerto, but it was the first to be published. There are still clearly Mozart and Haydn influences but Beethoven’s own unmistakeable voice is now emerging with adventurous harmonies and daring melodic ideas.

At only seven years old, Martha Argerich made her concert debut with Beethoven’s ‘Piano Concerto no. 1’ and she has continued to play the piece throughout her career, so it was a great thrill to see her perform it. It was played perfectly – the fast movements with an amazingly light but acrobatic touch and the slow movements with an intuitive grace and an elegant tempo. The Toulouse audience loved her and thunderous applause brought her back to the stage several times.

Martha Argerich

The second half of the concert was a performance of Antonín Dvořák’s ‘Symphony no. 8’. It was composed in 1889 on the occasion of his election to the Bohemian Academy of Science, Literature and Arts. Dvořák himself conducted the premiere in Prague in February 1890.

It is a very lyrical composition with a distinctly Czech flavour. The first movement is colourful and clearly draws on Bohemian folk melodies and I enjoyed the orchestra’s interpretation very much. The middle two movements are more pastoral with much dialogue between the woodwinds, the third being a waltz in ³/₈ time. The fourth movement is much more turbulent, beginning with a fanfare of trumpets, the tension building throughout before it ends with a coda in which brass and timpani dominate.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable evening with the orchestra under Renaud Capuçon on form throughout, but it will be particularly remembered for the experience of seeing the extraordinary Martha Argerich perform so beautifully.

Charlotte Sohy: ‘Dance mystique’, opus 19; Ludwig van Beethoven: ‘Piano Concerto no. 1 in C major’, Op. 15; Antonín Dvořák: ‘Symphony no. 8 in G major’, Op. 88.

Whenever I go to an exhibition at the Louvre, I also select a particular part of the permanent collection to investigate. This time it was Islamic Art, so I was disappointed to find that half of the collection was unavailable due to renovation work. However, I was still able to see some impressive artifacts from the tenth to the twelfth century.

Bowl with Figures (Iran, 900 – 1100)

Bowl with Standard Bearer (Iraq, c.900 – 1000)

Pyxis of al-Mughira (Spain, 968)

‘Monzon’ lion (Spain, c.975 – 1100)

Basin with Cavalier (Iran, c.1000 – 1200)

Peacock aquamanile (Spain, 11th century)

Lion perfume burner (Khorasan, 11th – 12th century)

Bowl with Hare (Iran, c.1100 – 1220)

Candlestick with ducks (Khorasan, 1150 – 1200)

Falcon perfume burner (Iran, 1180 – 1220)

Head of a Prince (Iran, 1185 – 1215)

For the first time, the Musée du Louvre has dedicated an exhibition to Cimabue, one of the most important artists of the thirteenth-century proto-Renaissance in Italy. The exhibition is the result of two important events for the Louvre relating to Cimabue: the restoration of the museum’s ‘Maestà’ and the acquisition of a previously unknown Cimabue panel, ‘Christ Mocked’, rediscovered in France in 2019.

As artists began to gradually move away from the relatively flat and highly-stylized Byzantine model, prevalent until the thirteenth-century, to be more naturalistic, figures were painted with more lifelike proportions and the use of shading gave them solidity. More than anyone else, Cenni di Pepo, known as Cimabue, is credited with this advance.

The Louvre exhibition shows the magnificent ‘Maestà’, together with other works by Cimabue and artists associated with him including Giotto and Duccio.

Giunta Pisano ‘Crucifix de San Ranierino’ (c.1240 – 50)

Master of Bigallo ‘Virgin and Child Enthroned with Angels” (c.1240 – 50)

Cimabue ‘Maestà’ (1280 – 85)

Cimabue ‘Gualino Madonna’ (c.1285)

Cimabue ‘The Mocking of Christ’ (1285 – 90)

Cimabue ‘Virgin and Child with two Angels’ (1285 – 90)

Cimabue ‘The Flagellation of Christ’ (1285 – 90)

Duccio ‘Crevole Madonna’ (c.1280 – 85)

Duccio ‘Madonna of the Franciscans’ (1285 – 88)

Giotto ‘Saint Francis receiving the Stigmata’ (c.1298)

Duccio ‘Flagellation’ and ‘Crown of Thorns’ (1308 – 11)

Duccio ‘Christ Mocked’ and ‘Christ before Caiaphas’ (1308 – 11)