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Interpreting G. Silvestrini’s Six Études pour Hautbois through the Impressionist paintings that inspired them
Literature Review and Theorisation
Personal Interpretation and Experimentation Journal
Applying Interpretive Experimentation in Performance
February, 2024
Pissarro’s scene of trees and flowerbeds evoke a stillness and calmness in me. There’s a suburban landscape in the distance, but the plants occupy the majority of the frame, the focus on the life of the trees as they sway serenely in the breeze. There is nothing static in this painting, it is filled with movement and life, and Pissarro captures the organic lines of the tree branches in juxtaposition with the fixed perpendiculars of the houses.
It is hard for me to connect the allegro energico of Silvestrini’s second étude with Pissarro’s Potager et arbres scene. Perhaps the two energico sections can exist purely to contradict their calme counterparts, and make their serenity more palpable. In this way, I will play the opening with attention to the harsh staccato accents and unease of the 5/16 time signature in an anxious, frantic manner. In this way, a flowing legato and rubato tempo will exaggerate the calme, and capture the essence of Potager et arbres most acutely. The sporadic trills and light articulations of the calme sections may be reminiscent of the interjections of bird song, cutting through the stillness.
March, 2024
Silvestrini hears bird song in this painting (Chinen, 2019, 9). It is interesting that I heard bird song too: this is very clearly written into the étude, but not so obvious in the painting. Is there another way to interpret this? Grace notes traditionally evoke bird song.
October, 2024
Maybe the irregular 5/16 time signature could be the ploughing of the fields. Maybe the staccato could be the brushstrokes.
Silvestrini imagines himself in the scene (Chinen, 2019, 9). Do I embrace or reject this idea, is it more faithful to the painting to only consider what is visible?
February, 2025
If I consider the allegro energico sections through the physicality approach, it is easier to connect the music to the painting. The short, accented semiquavers could easily represent the pointillist brushstrokes Pissarro used to capture the scene. The bird song that Silvestrini heard in this painting is clearly captured in the calme sections, which in that case apply the immersion approach (Chinen, 2019, 3).
This month I performed this étude for my teachers, Alexei Ogrintchouk and Karel Schoofs in my lessons. They also found it difficult to relate the étude to the painting, although Karel highlighted that the vagueness present in the painting can also be found in the music. Their advice was to find and bring out the different colours of the movement, and highlight the groove feeling created by the accents in the allegro energico. They also encouraged me to take more time in the calme sections, in order to let the music breathe, and make Silvestrini’s rhythms, especially the syncopations, more audible.
Before, I was playing the allegro energico very straight. Following Alexei and Karel’s advice brings more character to this section.
Taking more time in the calme sections allows the bird song motifs to shine.
Fig. 3 Boulevard des Capucines
Claude Monet (1873)
February, 2024
Sentier dans les bois is a celebration of colour and light. Renoir does not seem to place any importance on structure and form in this painting, instead letting broad swirls of colour create the mere impression of a forest path. The path is overgrown, bordered by wild bushes and hanging tree branches; the wilderness is thick and lush. Walking this path, one would feel utterly alone and isolated, completely immersed in nature. The sunlight that dapples through the canopy is warm and comforting. Insects and bird song can be heard, contributing to the sense of being peacefully alone in the world.
I feel that Silvestrini’s étude should be played with as much tranquility as the oboist can possibly achieve. As per usual, Silvestrini challenges the player with many difficult runs, and a complete absence of bar lines. I interpret this modern notation choice to mean not rhythmic freedom but a kind of rhythmic fluidity, in which the listener is not guided by a consistent beat or pulse but instead by organically timed flourishes and gestures. I can see that this étude is a series of gestures, and the runs should sound as effortless and smooth as possible. Nothing should be rushed, I will take time between each gesture to let the listener appreciate them as calmly as they experience Renoir’s painting.
Fig. 5 Scène de plage - Ciel d'orage
Eugène Boudin (1864)
October, 2024
Having now arranged this étude for decet, I like to remember the different colours of the instruments which I assigned to each gesture.
Perhaps I can experiment with how evenly I play the runs. How much rubato is appropriate? The étude is already very free.
The repeating falling third is so reminiscent of a cuckoo bird call.
February, 2024
Why do the dancers look so awkward? Is it because they are rehearsing, or just dancing socially? The chiaroscuro is so intense, the figures seem to be floating. There are two guitarists, figures in the background, and a table with wine and glasses. It certainly seems to be a social scene.
I think Silvestrini imitates the flamenco guitar depicted in the painting through the rising arpeggios, which could be strummed or rolled chords. Similarly, staccato quavers might be the plucking of strings. The music is constantly tripping over itself, interrupting itself. The time signatures are complex and inconsistent, not conducive to dancing successfully. Perhaps the performer should lean into these uncomfortable rhythms, flowing lightly when the time signature remains consistent, and lurching backwards or forwards when a beat is lost or added. This way, the audience can hear the dancers fumbling and falling as they go. Why are certain sections written in smaller print?
Fig. 8 Boulevard des Capucines, Paris, Hippolyte Jouvin
October, 2024
I like the idea of capturing the swells of the sea in this étude but this is very difficult technically. I will practise the movement with dynamics only, on the root note of the chords, to find the shape. Then follows the question of playing with good air support and legato.
February, 2025
As I identified in February, 2024, notation is a leading factor in this étude, as it is the only one where Silvestrini does not use any bar lines. I feel that this decision was made to relate the musical technique to the painting technique: colour and brush strokes merge and overlap to create an overall sense of a scene with very little concrete detail or visual information.
In traditional notation, runs like those in Sentier dans les bois would be marked with a small numeral to indicate how many notes fit into what timeframe. Like the bar lines, Silvestrini abandons this tradition as well, leaving the performer no structure for their rhythmic timing. When first studying this piece, I counted each note in the run, so I would know how to place them. Now that I am familiar with the notes, however, I will play these runs with rhythmic freedom, so the listener will have to guess how many notes I played, just like they might have to guess what exactly Renoir is depicting in his painting.
The repeating falling third sans attaques is the only motif in this étude which I can relate to the immersion approach, perhaps imitating a cuckoo bird call, which someone walking in this woodland might hear, muffled in the dense canopy.
February, 2025
Of all of Silvestrini’s études, Le ballet espagnol has probably the strongest identifiable links to its corresponding painting. I believe that this is the only étude where Silvestrini uses the specifications approach, drawing on the title and Manet’s proclivity for painting dancers to inform his composition.
The small notation is still a point of mystery to me, but I have identified that the music is most rhythmically insecure in the sections in small print. These sections have no bar lines and feature a number of fermatas, which halt the music, as well as ritardandos and accelerandos. The large print, although also frequently changing tempo, has more rhythmic security, and a clearer sense of a pulse. I will relate this feature of the étude to the elements approach, thinking of the pair of dancers sitting rather awkwardly on the left, when playing the small notes. They are watching the other two dancers, who appear only slightly more confident, perhaps thinking that soon they will have to imitate them. The dancers on the right, who are in motion, will be the large notes. It is totally unclear whether this is how Silvestrini imagined the étude, but I think this is the best way for me, the performer, to interpret his notation.
I will play the opening section quietly, with a sense of distance, facing away from the microphone, as I considered in November, 2024. Then I will play it thinking of the dancers on the left, who appear nervous and perplexed.
February, 2024
There is a quiet, detached melancholy in this painting. There are patches of vivid clarity and vague blurriness, perhaps intended to create focus points in the painting, but adding to a sense of mild unease. It is interesting to compare Monet’s likeness with the photograph below.
When I see large groups of people, I am always startled by the thought of all the different lives and stories that could be revealed. Although together in space, the people are removed by their circumstances. The trees and old stone buildings loom above, still and ever-seeing, a reminder that the lives of those below are transient and fleeting. Why does Monet position the viewer so? We see all, but we take no part in the scene below. Does that make us all knowing or completely ignorant?
Silvestrini creates two voices in this étude. The tone colour should sit deep and dark.
The lower voice should be steady and consistent, reminiscent of the bustling people. The upper voice should be very resonant, floating above the demisemiquavers, like the sandstone buildings and old trees.
This journal about the paintings that inspired Silvestrini’s Six Études pour Hautbois includes reflections recorded at multiple stages of this research. The first entries were written before reading any source materials or conceiving any theories, which allowed me to first consider my own instinctive interpretation of the paintings and the music connected to them. By doing this, I developed an individual, personal, and unbiased musical interpretation of the relationship between each painting and its corresponding étude. Later, I was able to reflect on these instincts, apply the theorisation developed in accordance with the literature review, and develop further ideas.
February, 2025
At first glance, Scène de plage - Ciel d’orage resembles, more than anything, a traditional étude. Diving deeper, however, it is clear that Silvestrini is parodying a technical exercise to create an effect of tumultuous seas and a growing storm. They sky is foreboding, and the figures in the painting are inevitably too slow to escape the oncoming downpour. In this way, Silvestrini combines the mood and notation approaches, capturing the swells in constantly rising and falling prestissimo semiquavers. The effect is that the notation, much like the imagined sea, is rising and falling in waves and swells.
March, 2024
Silvestrini’s notes on this étude suggest that the composer imagined himself describing the painting through the music. Each motif corresponds to a different character or element in the picture. This approach may lead to a story-telling interpretation.
I will play the opening motif as I imagine Silvestrini heard it, the whipping of the flags... (Chinen, 2019, 3)
February, 2025
By applying my different approaches, I was able to construct a clearer
set of interpretive options in this étude. Even within the opening phrase,
it is possible to apply several different approaches for how the music relates to the painting. The first is through the immersion approach; Monet depicts the sea in far distance, but if one were to step into the scene, the sound and smell of the waves would be the predominant feature. Silvestrini uses the same whole tone scale in the opening that Debussy uses in La Mer. This figure could then be played to imitate swells of the water.
I would like to honour Silvestrini’s description of the opening motif by thinking of the flags in the foreground (Chinen, 2019, 3). This applies the elements approach. There are still different ways to play this figure however, with the impetus falling in different places. The first is to highlight the demisemiquaver rest which starts the motif, and bounce off this. The second, as Karel prefers, is to play towards the peak of the phrase, the high F, highlighting this with slight rubato. I think the second option is more descriptive of the flags moving in the wind, and captures the movement Monet sought to capture.
The allant section is interesting to me as it features interesting notation, which implies a sort of dialogue between two voices. This aligns with the notation approach, in which the composer uses the notation to relate the music to the painting. Perhaps the notation is referring to the conversation between the figures in the foreground.
Fig. 1 Hôtel des Roches noires à Trouville
Claude Monet (1870) [Click to view larger]
February, 2024
Scène de plage evokes for me the frantic rush to pack up when you feel the first heavy drops of rain spill from the looming thunderclouds above. Looking at this painting, I can almost smell the approaching storm, mixed with the salty sea spray. The coastal winds are whipping around powerfully.
In Silvestrini’s étude, I hear the gusts of wind and roaring waves in the incessant running arpeggios, and looking at the page, I can see the rolling clouds and swells of water: swells in dynamics echo the swells of the sea. I could go so far as to imagine Silvestrini making meta-musical references to technique, as the figures in the painting struggle in the wind, the oboist struggles with the awkward fingerings and challenging key signature. Maybe the composer is also reflecting on traditional technical études, evoking the mind-numbing passages of Gillet or Loyon.
The muted colours of Boudin’s work can be heard in the E flat minor key signature, which ensures a darker, duller tone on the instrument. Playing this étude with careful, gentle rubato could help bring the storm to life for the audience. Let the phrases swell and recede like the tide, growing slowly but ever more persistent…
February, 2025
Silvestrini seems to take a forlorn, pessimistic view of Monet’s Boulevard des Capucines, perhaps lamenting the crowded, polluted city street in favour of the quiet, rural landscapes of the other paintings. The strongest approach I can identify in this étude is mood, as the breathless and unrelenting rhythmic ostinato, allegro tragico marking, and descending chromatic melody all create a strong feeling of disdain.
The repeated minor third could be played aggressively, with a sense of purpose and urgency, much like the figures on the street below. But I think that by marking tragico, Silvestrini was aiming for a quieter discontent, more mournful and pessimistic than loud and angry.
This étude requires that the player circular breathes, with no slowing or break in the music to allow proper breathing. For many oboists, this is extremely challenging, and if they are able to play through to the end, they will finish exhausted and desperate for a clean breath. Maybe Silvestrini wanted the player and their sympathetic audience to experience the feeling of polluted air Monet depicts in the painting.
October, 2024
Silvestrini does not say anything about this étude... (Chinen, 2019).
I could consider the breathlessness as a response to the high angle perspective. But it shouldn’t sound breathless, or should it?
Should the performer bring out the serenity or the turbulence in this étude?
Maybe the tone colour can be less concrete, more airy, to evoke the grey mood of the painting? Are the people depicted stuck in a routine of everyday life?
February, 2024
To me, this painting is about relaxation and contentment. It brings to me memories of summer holidays. I can almost feel the strength of the wind from the brush strokes. It’s a hot, dry wind, that kicks up the sand so it stings your ankles as you walk along the beach. The waves are ferocious, a reminder of the power of the ocean. On the promenade, people wander serenely. There is no rushing or anticipation, only the stillness and calm of knowing that your only task for the day is to soak up the sunshine.
There are a lot of notes in Silvestrini’s étude. The challenge of the performance will be capturing the serenity I feel in the painting amid the running scales and constant shifts in tempi. I will make more of the rests while letting the fast passages depict the force of the wind and ferocity of the waves. Longer notes with pauses should suspend in the air and resonate. The legato passages can be as smooth and effortless as possible.
It is interesting to note that Monet’s painting depicts a hotel that still operates today, and was painted the same summer the the artist married his wife, Camille (Chinen, 2019, 3). This painting epitomises the artist’s Impressionist style of bright colour contrasts, short, squiggly brush strokes, and attention to light and colour.
October, 2024
Silvestrini captured the awkwardness in this painting very effectively. It is important to be as accurate with the rhythms as possible.
November, 2024
There is no indication of how to interpret the small notation. I will consider these sections as intending to sound distant.
The performer could also experiment with how they stand. Perhaps, for these sections, I could turn away from the audience? I think the effect would be quite awkward, but the painting is awkward too.
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October, 2024
My teacher, Karel Schoofs, suggested to play it like this, softer and more ambiguous, with a slight weight on the peak of the gesture:
Fig. 6 Le ballet espagnol, Edouard Manet (1862)
Fig. 2 Potager et arbres en fleurs, Printemps, Pontoise
Camille Pissarro (1877)
Fig. 4 Sentier dans les bois
Auguste Renoir (1874)