Take a Bow: CityBeat Speaks with Louis Langrée as he Concludes his Tenure as Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director

This story is featured in CityBeat's May 1 print edition.

As the New York Times noted last July, Louis Langrée concludes “a quietly transformative era” as the maestro ends his 11-season tenure as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s music director with two sets of concerts in May.

It’s the end of an era for me, too. I interviewed Langrée throughout his CSO career and it’s been a rare and unique privilege to gain a sense of him as a musician and a generous human being deeply committed to his art, the CSO and the Cincinnati community.

I was in the crowd for Langrée’s debut as CSO’s music director at the 2013 Lumenocity show, which concluded with a dazzling performance of Ravel’s “Boléro” and astounding projections on Music Hall’s east façade as the audience of 35,000 people roared in delight.

He looked happily dazed following the performance as the exiting crowd waved and shouted bravos. Our first interview followed a month later; it was literally midnight in Paris when we spoke over the phone, and that post-concert ebullience was clearly audible.

He put up with my fractured French, assuring me that it was better than his English. As if. But speaking French became our M.O., adding another dimension to that favorite word of his: sharing.

How lucky for Cincinnati that he; his wife, actress and author Aimée Langrée; and their children, Celeste and Antoine, relocated here from Paris. The Langrées were regulars at arts events in Cincinnati, sometimes as audience members, sometimes as participants. Their kids graduated from Walnut Hills High School and the Langrées were enthusiastic supporters of the school’s music and dramatic programs.

That spirit of generosity extended to nurturing the next generation of performers and audience members through Langrée’s passion for sharing his knowledge and love for music beyond Music Hall. He conducted the Walnut Hills High School Chamber Orchestra. He led College-Conservatory of Music’s Philharmonia Orchestra in a thrilling performance of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique . After the concert, I greeted him while CCM students thronged behind me. “Your public awaits,” I said. “No, no,” he gently corrected me. “My colleagues .”

In 2020, CCM voice students sang all the supporting roles in the CSO’s luminous production of Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges. They and Langrée agreed that those performances were unforgettable.

No matter what the topic, I always sensed that I was speaking with an 18th-century philosophe, a person embodying the French Enlightenment’s ideals of liberty, equality and unity (or fraternity), who possessed genuine curiosity about the entire world. Throughout his CSO tenure, we spoke over the phone, at his lovely East Walnut Hills residence, in his Music Hall office and on Zoom. The interviews were genuine dialogues; he never shied away from tough questions and his thoughtful responses were always (pardon the pun) enlightening.

Langrée grew up in Alsace in northeastern France, a rural area famous for its wine and beer. An avid gardener, Langrée’s references to gardening frequently pop up in interview transcripts. One of my favorites: “I compare my work to that of a simple peasant, growing the best and most organic sounds.”

An interview with the maestro

I met with Langrée in February to discuss his legacy at the CSO when he was in town to conduct Brahms’ A German Requiem . Although our time was limited, Langrée responded with characteristic thoughtfulness, candor and generosity.

CityBeat: In our first interview in October 2013, you frequently used the word “share.” What has the CSO shared with you and how has your sense of sharing changed?

Louis Langrée: Sharing isn’t an act; it’s a state of being. My first questions to myself when I arrived here were what can we — orchestra and conductor — make together and what should we make together, especially in Cincinnati where people seem to feel the CSO’s relevance more than in many other cities?

Music is sharing in three senses. Music is a dialogue: one performs, listens and responds. That was my job last night (at rehearsals for the Brahms’ Requiem ), especially for the musicians who have no words but respond to singers. In last night’s rehearsal, when the baritone sings a phrase, the trumpets echo him. Even if they don’t pronounce the words, we understand. And without that sharing, music is only notes on a page.

We all became aware of more profound ways of sharing during the pandemic. Live performances couldn’t happen and the CSO committed to livestreaming our performances on different platforms. The responses were amazing. We started out very modestly — just me and (CSO CEO and president) Jonathan Martin speaking from our homes, but we reached hundreds and then thousands of people all over the world. I told the orchestra that although we had to cancel our world tour, we still brought Cincinnati to the world.

CB: You and your family made the difficult decision to move to Cincinnati and you stayed here throughout COVID lockdowns. What did you gain from the experience?

LL: Conductor Simon Rattle told me if you want to be a genuine music director of a city’s orchestra, you have to live in that city to understand it. You can’t check the local and social media. Only if you deeply understand yourself and the city’s problems can the symphony be part of the solutions.

For me, it was obvious and necessary that we move here. We had no direct connection to Cincinnati, so it was especially difficult for our children. But it was also inspiring to confront different cultures, different schools, different neighborhoods. After graduating from Walnut Hills, our kids chose universities in English-speaking countries. If they hadn’t had this global sense of the world, their lives would have been different. This experience has helped all of us gain a sense of ourselves in the world.

I wanted to be a Cincinnatian and during the pandemic, I wanted to stay close to the orchestra. I wanted to find ways to keep them performing and we were so fortunate that we did that, through commissioning fanfares and being one of the first orchestras to livestream.

CB: Community outreach was a significant part of your time here. What were memorable moments for you?

LL: “One City, One Symphony” was a project begun by (former CSO CEO) Trey Devey and, in 2012, I led a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony that was shown on the large screens on Fountain Square. After we moved here, I was walking through Fountain Square when a police officer saw me and began whistling the “Ode to Joy!” That was amazing! We did a series with the Pops about heroes and we did a volunteer project with Cincinnati Parks Department to show how you can be a hero in your own community. That was amazing too!

CB: Are there other concerts that had special resonance for you?

LL: In my first season, we did Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait with Maya Angelou and she was so impressive as the narrator. That voice! (Langrée went into his office, returning with an inscribed copy of Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings). She gave me this and it’s a treasure I’ve kept in my desk here.

The Beethoven Akademie concert series we did in February 2020, just before the pandemic, was phenomenal. I think we showed that Beethoven wanted to be part of his larger community. The orchestra played so beautifully for Pelléas et Mélisande and L’Enfant et les Sortilèges. And many of the works we performed during the pandemic had been rarely performed, especially those by Black composers. They were revelations.

CB: The orchestra’s sound is different from when you began your tenure, thanks to 35 musicians you appointed and a refurbished Music Hall. What differences do you hear?

LL: When I arrived, there were many musicians close to retirement age, so it was an opportunity to renew.

I think the sound and the style are more flexible now in colors, shaping a phrase and articulating it. As you say, the hall is smaller, so you can hear more details. Before the renovation, the hall sounded like a cavern. Now, the sound is closer to the public and the public is closer to the orchestra. Bravo to the architects, the donors, to everyone who was involved in it! It’s been a huge success.

CB: I know the COVID shutdown made you angry, but you worked through it by growing a beard, advocating for livestreaming, featuring works by Black composers and commissioning fanfares, aiding both composers and musicians.

LL: Yes, I was angry and I felt guilty that in the middle of this disaster, there were so many beautiful experiences. Tyler Secor (Langrée’s assistant at the time) was a huge part of helping me discover new works. He introduced me to Julia Perry’s “Homunculus,” an extraordinary piece. Then he said, maybe you should look at “You Have the Right to Remain Silent” by Anthony Davis. And I thought, “Oh, that’s a great title;” it made me think of silence and what silence is. But it’s a completely different thing.

I was so proud to be part of promoting American music, not only commissioning and performing new works, but also conducting pieces that already existed and giving them a second chance, especially for Anthony Davis because, after that, the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony performed it. Now major orchestras play it, so it’s back on the radar.

For composers, COVID was a disaster, so we created a commissioning project.  Cincinnati is the place for fanfares, the home of Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.” We asked for fanfares in completely different styles for different instruments. I’ll never forget Dwight Perry playing Matthias Pintscher’s oboe fanfare from the balcony at the first livestream.

CB: You’re responsible for 45 commissioned orchestral works and 31 premieres over the course of your CSO career. What were some highlights?

LL: After Maya Angelou died, we wanted to continue to honor her legacy and we dedicated the 2015 One City One Symphony to her. We commissioned TJ Cole, Jonathan Bailey Holland and Kristin Kuster to set three of her poems (“Elegy,” “Equality” and “Forgive”). That is a beautiful memory, these young, bold composers inspired by her poetry.

At the other end is the last symphony of Christopher Rouse, who died a week before we premiered his 6th Symphony in October 2019. It’s poignant, magnificent. And it was unforgettable.

CB: What is an unfulfilled ambition you have for the CSO?

LL: (Sighs). When I arrived, a taxi driver asked me if I came to Cincinnati to work for P&G. When I said no, I’m the symphony’s music director, he said, “Oh wow, the symphony!” But when I asked how many concerts he’d been to, he said, “No, it’s not for me — but I know they’re good.”

I wanted this sort of person to come and be proud of something they’ve experienced, not just passing in front of Music Hall. After COVID, we turned to social media and although it helped everyone to keep performing, now we must balance it with live experience versus the digital livestream, one of the best being presented, but nothing takes the place of live performances.

I would like to have succeeded more, but I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished.

CB: You introduced and advocated for performers and composers of color to CSO audiences. How can American orchestras be more proactive in the same way?

LL: I think that everyone’s reacting viscerally in a way that doesn’t help to repair or rebuild. To say orchestras are racist, fine. For me, having an auditioning musician play behind a screen is important because then you pay attention to the level of playing. Removing the screen is very racist for me because the only thing you expect is the image and that doesn’t help nurture talent.

How is it that the richest democracy in the world (America) has such an unequal educational system? It’s awful. Let’s give the whole world a chance. I’m very proud of our Diversity Fellows program. We train them; we help them; we give them keys to be able to win auditions behind screens, and when they win, it’s because they are the best candidate.

People told me “Oh, we’re so glad that for the first time in the orchestra’s history, a female concertmaster was hired.” No, I said. I chose the best candidate. That’s the dignity that music can give and the best way to push back against racism.

CB: Anything else?

Life gives us so many surprises and we have to take risks. I’m so proud of my city and this orchestra. Life is beautiful!

Grand merci and forts bravos, mon vieux. A très bientôt. (Many thanks and bravissimo, old friend. Till next time).

Langrée’s Grand Finale, featuring the world premiere of CSO commission Broken in Parts by Anthony Davis, is on May 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m. and May 12 at 2 p.m. at Music Hall. Info: cincinnatisymphony.org .