Jean-Yves Thibaudet + The Three Cornered Hat at Jones Hall

HOUSTON, TX -- This past weekend, the Houston Symphony hosted the second concert of their 2025/2026 Season, and the first of their Classical Series for the first half of this term’s run. ‘Jean-Yves Thibaudet + The Cornered Hat,’ was a wonderful afternoon of entertainment, with influences on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea from Spain to Egypt, and beyond. The works of Camille Saint-Saëns 5th Piano Concerto and Manuel de Falla’s The Three Cornered Hat are wonderful finds on a beautiful fall afternoon, in that they are not regularly played; but when listening you begin to wonder where they have been all your life. It’s incredible to enjoy the hints of religious influence, past masters, Spanish guitar, songs of the Nile, postcards of music from a life’s long travel. Houston Symphony Associate Conductor Gonzalo Farias, filled in for an ailing Juanjo Mena, and it was refreshing to see his youth and energy really take hold. The audience was excited to hear of his future projects at the symphony, and it will be fun to see Farias grow, as his reserved movements grow into the free flowing grace of a master in the communication of his baton to his musicians.

Famed pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet brought his love for Saint-Saëns work to Houston, of which he has played ‘Egyptian’ since his student days, being introduced to it by his teacher. Seeing his comfort at the piano was quite reassuring. To him it's second nature, a combination of muscle memory and countless hours of hard work, building on his experience. His interactions with Farias in his conducting were as if they had been working together their entire lives. The complexity of Saint-Saëns ideas in his Piano Concerto No. 5 ‘Egyptian,’ are not to be taken lightly by lesser versed artists. It’s a serious piece that requires precise movements, and once mastered allows for a wondrous dramatic flair, exciting colors and harmonies, as well as a brilliance of technique that Thibaudet offers.

Of course, being named Egyptian, the concerto was composed by Saint-Saëns in Egypt while on vacation in 1895-96, but there are hints of other world locales as well. The first movement is playful, innovative, old hat, rhythmically patterned, almost waltz-like in presentation; with Thibaudet probably being able to play it in his sleep. Early on you get the sense of water and its tranquility, perhaps memories of the sites of the travels to Africa on the Mediterranean or on other high seas voyages. The early theme allows Jean-Yves to try out the capabilities of the keys, like test driving a new car, getting to know the Steinway. He runs the board with the greatest of ease. The cresendos are epic, perhaps representative of intense waves in a sea voyage. His play is passionate. Mindful of the great respect that Thibadaudet holds for his craft and the instrument he grasps in the highest regard. He can be gentle, or as rough as you can get without breaking the ivories. In a way Thibaudet is a giant compared to the keys and the music brings to life.

Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 5, ‘Egyptian,’ is classically structured, and being an old school guy, debuting at age 11 in 1846 Paris salons as a piano soloist, Camille’s forte was being able to recall Beethoven’s piano sonatas by memory. The No. 5 concerto was written as a challenge to himself, and with nearly 50 years into the game at the time, his working vacay into the Land of the Pharaohs was nothing short of amazing. At the time, when younger composers like Claude Debussy and his contemporaries were changing the game, Saint-Saëns maintained his composure in perfecting the output of his learned era, taking the manageable themes of his upbringing and clinging to the tried-and-true methods that made him a powerhouse. He takes the work and develops it with interesting variations that are pleasing and catchy to the ear. Camille left little hints you wouldn’t expect in a land filled with sand, like a sped-up version of a Gregorian chant (perhaps an offshoot ode to his time as a church organist), which he uses the motif to transition to the second theme of the first movement. It plays to a more relaxed, an afforded occasion, where one can live having earned their lifetime bounty, now being able to enjoy it in their later years.

The second movement, although written with Egypt in mind, has hints of locales worldwide, with their musical representations that were presented in his travels. The initial Egyptian impression, almost harpsichordish if you will, yields to the influence of the Javanese gamelan (the instrument varieties of gongs, drums, strings, flutes, and keyed instruments), with its harp-like reverb that can be representative of a dreamstate. In his cruising of The Nile, Saint-Saëns heard the boatman's rendition of a Nubian lovesong, and used the right side of the keyboard to represent a melody of the rippling waters of The Nile as his vessel made its way down the river, which was soon repeated by the first violins and cellos. Camille takes a simple melody and develops it almost to a love scene of operatic proportions, with overlapping melodies that bring smiles to one's face. You might hear the faint chirp of some crickets, plus a melody of French Indochina (Vietnam), and the double notes of Spanish guitar designed for the piano.

The third movement is beautiful and cheery, uplifting, and eruptive. Its nature like in areas, free and flowing, as if on a warm spring day. Seeing Thibaudet in the build up to the top of the mountain is exciting, with that short rest, before the final ascent. The flurry of activity at the end with his hands in wild gesticulations was incredible to see. Jean-Yves is a true master by the grace of Saint-Saëns and his performance at Jones Hall was a true testament to his abilities.

Several works of the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla were presented with Farias at the podium. Two excerpts from Falla’s ‘La Vida breve’ (The Brief Life), a short opera, ‘Interlude and Danza Española’ and ‘¡Vivan los que ríen!’ are taken from the opera. Right off the bat, you get the sense of love and mischievous intention, with the story sad with the relationship of a young Romani woman, Salud, and a well-off young man, who is secretly to marry a woman of his class, then tragedy happens. The romanticism has some Wagnerian hints, while the orchestration can instill thoughts of Liszt. ¡Vivan los que ríen!, with vocals from the wonderful contralto Susan Couden, who made her Houston Symphony debut, was stunning, with her voice lifting to the rafters.

Falla’s ‘The Three-Cornered Hat,’ or in Spanish, El Sombrero de tres picos, is the comedic story of a magistrate who tries to seduce a miller’s pretty wife. The Introduction with the trumpet and drum fanfare, the clapping castanets, the beginning of the vocals from Couden, and the symphony’s ‘oi’s’ and claps, more castanets, more fanfare, and just like that it's gone; but not forgotten in the memory banks. Falla took the miller, his wife, and a clumsy magistrate (corregidor) who, with his symbol of power, the three-cornered hat, attempts to seduce the miller’s wife. The unsophisticated magistrate fails in all of his attempts to win the wife, and winds up being the source of everyone’s laughter.

In each suite, Falla is easily able to set the mood of each scene, from the tranquil setting of the mill in the afternoon, of work, hard as it may be, but peaceful, with the miller trying to train his blackbird to act as his timekeeper, with each chirp acting as an hour, of which the sound is mimicked by a first violin and piccolo combo. Passing men eye the wife, and in time the magistrate (corregidor), with his three-cornered hat, his symbol of power, plots his seduction. It’s fun to see the magistrates' bumbullings as represented by the first bassoon. All the dances were entertaining, and in the Jota, Falla takes all the themes from each one and combines them in a wonderful and chaotically joyous scene with the rattle of the castanets to wrap it up.

Conductor Gonzalo Farias was excellent in his presentation, and upon its conclusion was gracious in lauding his players, prompting individuals and groups to stand and be recognized for their excellent work. Farias’ felt at ease the entire time on the podium, and his work with Sara Couden and Jean-Yves Thibaudet was awesome. Interestingly, Juanjo Mena has recorded Manuel de Falla’s ‘The Three-Cornered Hat,’ with the BBC Philharmonic on Chandos, and there are recordings of the work on different labels, most of which can be very hard to find. Kudos go out to Houston Symphony Executive Director/CEO Gary Ginstling and his team for luring such wonderful talent to the Houston Symphony and Jones Hall. It is such a wonderful facility with parking a stone's throw away, allowing for a wonderful experience whether it’s Friday or Saturday night, or a Sunday afternoon. Bravo!!

The next performances scheduled are: Gershwin & Grimaud: Jazz Meets Symphony, October 17-19, and From Stage to Screen: Broadway Meets Hollywood, October 31-November 2.

The HS website is: houstonsymphony.org Please consider donating to this wonderful organization.

Ruben can be reached at: ruben@montgomerycountynews.net