Interview about Symphonic Chocolates, on Global News
Press
Coverage about Symphonic Chocolates, on Canal Alpha (Switzerland)
Coverage about Symphonic Chocolates, on France 3
Reviews
« Chocolats symphoniques, une suite orchestrale délicieusement composée pour accompagner une dégustation de chocolats. »
– Radio-Canada, Elvis Nouemsi Njiké, Sept. 23, 2020
« Fermez les yeux. Savourez un chocolat au caramel. La douceur et le moelleux se mêlent, le sucre envahit votre bouche. Vos papilles se délectent. Vous vous sentez bien. Vous êtes détendu. Qu’entendez-vous? Quelle musique? Et si on essaie avec un chocolat à la menthe? Entendez-vous autre chose? Sentez-vous le frais de la menthe? Entendez-vous une musique froide, une musique de glace? C’est à ce jeu de pistes que nous a conviés l’ESN (Ensemble symphonique Neuchâtel), dimanche au théâtre du Passage dans le cadre de «Chocolatissimo». Le compositeur Maxime Goulet a composé «Chocolats symphoniques», pièce inspirée de la saveur de quatre chocolats différents que le public est invité à déguster lors de l’interprétation de l’œuvre. Le papier grésille, résonne entre les rangs du théâtre; le chocolat fond lentement sur la langue. Mmmh! La musique vient commenter la sensation gustative. La composition de Maxime Goulet est très suggestive. On entend vibrer le vent froid du nord dans les cordes de l’orchestre, alors que la fraîcheur mentholée explose en bouche. Le dynamisme des rythmes brésiliens vient se superposer au goût légèrement amer du café. Une expérience multisensorielle très suggestive. »
– ARCInfo, Nov. 5, 2019
« The programme began with Goulet’s Chocolats symphoniques. Everyone had been given a box of four hand-made chocolates (from Urban Village Chocolates) – one chocolate to eat for each movement. This was a truly novel way to enjoy the music and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. This symphony had never before been played in the UK, so this was a unique experience. »
– Hinchley Wood, Nov. 3, 2019
« Parmi les succès de Maxime, il y a certes les Chocolats symphoniques, suite orchestrale qui a été jouée plus de 70 fois ici et à l’étranger. Elle sera d’ailleurs jouée de nouveau en janvier prochain par l’Orchestre symphonique de Falcon, au Vénézuela, et en février, par le Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. Le concept est simple: associer la musique à un arôme de chocolat. Le public, évidemment, déguste les chocolats en écoutant la pièce. « L’idée, c’est de faire vivre aux gens une expérience multisensorielle, dit-il. Un autre aspect agréable, c’est qu’à chaque fois, on fait un partenariat avec un chocolatier local qui apporte sa touche personnelle. Quand j’ai la chance d’être sur place, je me fais plaisir en y goûtant! Mes projets mettent souvent les gens de bonne humeur. » À l’heure où les organismes musicaux sont à la recherche de nouvelles formules pour attirer le public, l’offre a de quoi séduire en combinant musique et dégustation gourmande. Les quatre mouvements sont donc associés au Caramel, Chocolat noir, Menthe et Café. Il fallait y penser! »
– Ludwig van Montréal, Caroline Rodgers, 19 nov. 2018
« A lyrical melody with sonorous notes by Canadian composer Maxime Goulet envelops the crowd at a downtown Toronto venue, as guests savour creamy chocolate caramels. As the symphonic music turns passionate, the deliciously bitter finish of a dark chocolate morsel lingers. This isn’t an elegant summer wedding: “Symphonic Chocolates” is playing to an academic crowd at the International Multisensory Research Forum, where Oxford prof and author Charles Spence is a keynote speaker. This serving of complementary sound and flavour notes is just the kind of mind-bending experiment Spence celebrates in his book Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating—a kind of Freakonomics for foodies. »
– Bay Street Bull, June 18, 2018
« It works! I had a bite of the coffee-infused chocolate and that’s exactly the music I heard – the pairing is perfect. »
– Médium Large, Catherine Perrin, Mar. 28, 2018
« The exquisite compositions by well-known young Quebec composer Maxime Goulet brought a freshness to the concert and allowed us to explore a whole new connection to music. […] His symphonic works named after different chocolates matched perfectly with their namesake treats. With Caramel Chocolate, it was decadence, languid and rich. For Dark Chocolate, the intense bitterness was translated into a rhythmic musicality that hinted at seduction. In Mint Chocolate, a fresh breeze could be heard rather distinctly at the end of the movement. And finally, it was Coffee-infused Chocolate, with its Brazilian flavour expressed through the samba rhythm. These movements were accompanied by chocolates, and heightened their flavours as well as their textures. It was a memorable moment of discovery. What’s more, I must admit that having a Quebec artist enthrall us with these uncommon notions won me over completely. »
– EstriePlus, Sarah-Eve Desruisseaux, Mar. 28, 2018
« The public really seemed to be enjoying themselves Saturday night at the Maurice-O’Bready Hall for the Sherbrooke Symphony Orchestra’s concert, whose title was “Classics and Chocolate!”. […] The name of the movements [of Symphonic Chocolates] was enough to make you hungry: Caramel chocolate, dark chocolate, mint chocolate and coffee-infused chocolate … Fortunately, the Sherbrooke Symphony Orchestra had the good idea of selling at the door small boxes of four chocolates corresponding to the names of each movements. We could feel the caramel flow in our mouth while listening to the sound of the strings, feel the bitterness of dark chocolate with the staccatos of wind instruments or the exotic touches of coffee recalled by the string pizzicatos, ukulele style. »
– La Tribune, Camille Dauphinais-Pelletier, Mar. 24, 2018
« A curious connection between sound and taste. […] When I listened to it, I found myself craving chocolate! »
– The Findings Report, Jan. 23, 2018
« Composer Maxime Goulet had a delicious idea – to write a musical suite about chocolate, seguing the sounds through signatures that correspond with various types of chocolate. Then he had an even better idea – to let audiences eat those chocolates while listening to the music. Symphonic Chocolates is the Canadian composer’s resulting work, an all-encompassing, multisensory experience that has challenged the idea of a traditional classical music concerts – and maybe even how to eat chocolate. Featuring varying tempos and temperaments, the piece takes audience members on an engaging journey through a lyrical melody resembling the creamy richness of drizzling caramel to an energetic allegro inspired by Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer, and its upbeat samba rhythms. In the middle movements, a dissonance in the music reflects the bitterness of dark chocolate, inciting visions of a seductive tango. The musicians then create an auditory sensation of the icy coldness of mint chocolate hitting the tongue – powerful enough to cause a chill to run up one’s spine. The sound, which is high-pitched and metallic, is produced when violinists use effects like a tremolo, a rapid back and forth motion of the bow. »
– The Houston Chron, Lawrence Elizabeth Knox, November 16, 2017
« The first concert, Last Night of the Festival, Eh!, began in good taste, as the audience dipped into chocolates paired specifically with Maxime Goulet’s Symphonic Chocolates: Orchestral Sweets in Four Flavours. For a piece which was born out of the composer’s trip to a chocolate shop, the degustation did well to heighten the moods clearly articulated by Goulet and delivered “true to life” by the National Academy Orchestra of Canada. »
– Ludwig van Toronto, Jennifer Liu, Aug. 5, 2017
« C’est un concept original et enchanteur proposé par l’Orchestre de Normandie, un Concert au Chocolat qui sillonne la Normandie. Une excellente idée qui combine le plaisir des sens, l’ouïe et le goût y étant sollicités. Ce vendredi, l’accueil était des plus agréables pour le public à la Renaissance, chacun recevait gracieusement un ballotin de quatre chocolats avant de s’installer pour apprécier le concert qui allait suivre. […] En guise de mise en bouche dans ce menu, on ne peut plus convaincant, nous savourons une superbe interprétation de la très belle œuvre de Maxime Goulet “Chocolats symphoniques” […] Ces œuvres sont magnifiquement servies par l’ensemble de l’orchestre et superbement dirigées par Jean-Pierre Haeck et Aziyadé Breugelmans qui nous fait l’honneur d’une prestation. […] Une expérience unique pour ce concert dégustation grâce à la virtuosité des musiciens et au savoir-faire d’une jeune femme artisan-chocolatier: Natalie Rouxel. »
– RegArt, Apr. 19, 2017
« Not only is this approach unique to a classical concert, but the composer himself is unique to the genre. »
– Lancaster Online, September 3rd, 2015
« Gift ideas for 2014: our top 5. For the music fans in your life: the “Symphonic Chocolates” package includes a soundtrack in which each movement corresponds to a fine chocolate. »
– Voir (Newspaper), December 4th, 2014
« A very cool idea and a fun experience! »
– Global News, November 14th, 2014
« A new experience on a whole other level! »
– CBC, Daybreak Montreal, November 3rd, 2014
« As for the chocolates at the top of the menu, they accompanied the performance of a suite by Maxime Goulet in which the four movements are meant to evoke as many flavours: caramel, dark, mint, and coffee. On stage, the young composer described each piece, sampling a chocolate and inviting those in the audience who had purchased the exquisite little box of four chocolates to do the same. For the chocolates, we score 10 out of 10. For the music: let’s say that in a languorous or South-American style, it succeeds. »
– La Presse, May 7th, 2014
« Instead of raising a glass, the audience will be able to enjoy four little chocolates during the performance of this suite in four short movements that, we are told, each evoke a different flavour of chocolate: caramel, dark, mint, and coffee. »
– La Presse, May 6th, 2014
« A chocolate tasting at the symphony: Maxime Goulet’s Symphonic Chocolates is a delicious sensory experience. »
– CBC, InTune, February 15th, 2014
« Composer Maxime Goulet joined forces with Geneviève Grandbois to create Symphonic Chocolates, four orchestral movements to be listened to while enjoying an assortment of chocolates! The idea, original to say the least, is backed-up by skilful, immediately pleasant, very cinematographic music in the tradition of light classical music. »
– Le Devoir, February 14th, 2014
« If you have no desire to go out and you are both music enthusiast and foodie, then composer Maxime Goulet’s packaged CD and chocolate duo could meet all your Valentine’s Day needs. In the comfort of your own home, why not give yourself the Symphonic Chocolates experience, that is to say listen to an orchestral suite in four movements while enjoying a box of Geneviève Grandbois chocolates created specially to complement the symphony. »
– Voir (Newspaper), February 6th, 2014
« Around Valentine’s Day, we often tend to associate chocolate with a heart-shaped box of inexpensive treats purchased on sale at the grocery store. Happily, there are initiatives that succeed in restoring the noble pedigree of the sweetest of poisons: Symphonic Chocolates. »
– Mat.tv, February 6th, 2014
« A wild idea that makes classical music more festive. Symphonic Chocolates exudes happiness. »
– Radio-Canada, PM, January 27th, 2014
« It’s the mildly insane gamble taken up by chocolatier Geneviève Grandbois and composer Maxime Goulet when they combined their talents to create four musical movements matched with four chocolates specially designed for this audio-gastronomical experience. (…) Worth discovering! »
– Voir (Newspaper), January 21st, 2014