Rivière d'écoute takes its form from the path of a watercourse, in which musical perception evolves as if carried by the current. It is a metaphor for the musical process.
The flute represents the drawing of the river by showing the great flow of the piece, with its sinuous curves. The orchestra, for its part, plays the role of the flow, sometimes wide and tumultuous, but also calm and still.
As you listen, the flute passes through various musical situations evoking different configurations of water.