Royal Philharmonic Orchestra_Horia Andreescu_Joshua Bell_Palace Hall_12.09

..
Palace Grand Hall
Series "Great Orchestras"
Deutsche Welle Concert
ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA LONDON
Conductor: HORIA ANDREESCU
Soloist: JOSHUA BELL
...
Program:
Saint-Saens – Symphony no. 3 in c minor "Orgue Symphony" op. 78
Lalo – Spanish Symphony for violin and orchestra op. 21
Ravel - Suite no. 2 «Daphnis and Chloe»
With the participation of the choir of the "George Enescu" Philharmonic
....
......Joshua Bell has captured the public’s imagination like no other classical violinist of his time. His 2007-2008 season follows a seminal year highlighted by receiving the coveted Avery Fisher Prize, being the only U.S. musician named by the World Economic Forum as one of the 250 Young Global Leaders, and his appointment to the Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music faculty as a senior lecturer. In concerts and on recordings, his bold, charismatic artistry has brought a fresh voice to the most venerable masterpieces while also uncovering lesser known gems and new works, as with the Fall ’07 CD release of The Red Violin Concerto by John Corigliano. An exclusive Sony Classical artist who has created a richly varied catalogue of recordings, recently released is The Essential Joshua Bell, while Voice of the Violin continues to soar on the heels of Romance of the Violin which Billboard named the 2004 Classical CD of the Year, and Bell the Classical Artist of the Year. His live recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto continues to win critical acclaim.
......After summer performances at Tanglewood, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland and Mostly Mozart at Lincoln Center, Joshua Bell’s 2007-2008 performance season includes concerts with the BBC Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall, a European tour with Kurt Masur conducting the Orchestre National de France as well as appearances with the Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chicago Symphony, the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra and the Tonhalle-Orchester. In October, he will premiere a new work written for him by Jay Greenberg with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall. He concludes 2007 – and welcomes 2008 – as the guest soloist with Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic at the annual New Year’s Eve Gala at Lincoln Center. A recital tour with Jeremy Denk takes the pair to Europe and the U.S. including The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Bell will also tour Europe as a guest soloist with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.
......Joshua Bell first came to Romania 2 years ago. He replaced Maxim Vengerov who was injured. And what a concert it was! Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto led the crowd crazy. Same as tonight. This was the best concert so far. The RPO sounded better than the previous night. They were alive, involved in everything and I have to give credits to the conductor, Mr Horia Andreescu. He did something to them. Or maybe it was the breakfast they had that morning :).

Joshua put everything into it. Tehnique, passion... for the whole lenght of the concert people stopped caughing, sneezing, talking, drinking. Everybody paid attention. This is how a concert shuld be. I hope Mr Bell enjoyed this evening as much as I did.

......This is a recording of him playing Lalo's Spanish Symphony (Rondo Allegro)

......The encore was funny but very difficult at the same time. I heard two ladies talking behind me "For sure he's about 30". Right :) He's actually 42, but he looks younger and plays beautifully. So, the encore was "Yankee Doodle" (somebody filmed it during a concert in Sao Paolo this year). Isn't he great?

......And a little bit of promotion. He'll release a new album on September 29th. It's called "At Home With Friends". You can order and listen to samples on amazon.com
...

Joshua Bell after the concert

Encore


Mr Andreescu saluting the chorus at the end of the concert

...... I'll end up with the usual example of what I listened to.

Daphnis et Chloe Suite by Ravel
Berliner Phiharmoniker - Herbert von Karajan - 1985

Part 1 - Daybreak (Lever du jour)

Part 2 - Pantomine

Part 3 - General Dance (Danse générale)

......Big thank you! Please come back!

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra_Charles Dutoit_Nigel Kennedy_Palace Hall_11.09

..
Palace Grand Hall
Series "Great Orchestras"
ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA LONDON
Conductor: CHARLES DUTOIT
Soloist: NIGEL KENNEDY
..
Program:
Enescu - Rhapsody no. 1 in A Major
Musorgsky / Ravel - Tableaux d’une exposition (Pictures at an exhibition)
Ludwig van Beethoven - Concerto for violin and orchestra in D Major op. 61
...

......I've been waiting for this concert for 2 years. When the Festival was over 2 years ago I was sure that Martha Argherich would come back. Shortly after the schedule for this year was announced and she was there. Only that the artists some times change their mind and it doesn't matter that the performace is sold out or a lot of people are waiting to see her/him. I was upset. I knew that no matter who's coming it wouldn't be the same. And it wasn't. It must be very difficult for a director to find somebody willing to come on a such short notice. In opera it's easier only because they have to find someone who plays the same part. Here not only a person has to be found and brought from who knows where over night, but also that person has to play the same instrument. If this doesn't happen, then it's more difficult. The orchestra has to know the new concert. They need the scores and extra rehearsal. So insteed of Ravel and Prokofiev's piano concertos, they did Beethoven's violin concerto. And there was a change in the program. Beethoven was moved to the second part of the concert.

......Nigel Kennedy came. I saw him three times in the past. First time 4 years ago when he played Bach at the Palace Hall and jazz at the National Theatre and then 3 years ago or so, at a private function, also with jazz. He's a showman. And last night it was not the time or the place for show. I understand that this is the style, but the combination between classical and jazzy look/behaviour can be annoying or disturbing.

......The first part of the concert was more like accommodation with the orchestra. Nigel arrived that same day and I don't know if they had time to rehears. The other two parts sounded fine. He got out some touching moments. During the parts he was not playing he faced the orchestra, not the audience. And many times I felt like he's the conductor and not Dutoit. He has a leg movement... he's hitting the ground with the right leg when the melody is fast. And he moves a lot on stage. The soloist doesn't have too much space between the violins and the conductor. So Nigel was moving from violins to cellos. Left to right, right to left. And the orchestra members in the first row weren't delighted at all. From where I stood I got some angry looks.
......Please listen to this version of the concert. Berliner Philharmoniker (why do most of the times my examples involve Berliner Philharmoniker ?!?!) / Perlman / Barenboim conducting - 1992

......

There were two encores. The first one, a tribute to Maria Tanase. Whitout orchestra, as they were not prepared for this. He played this song last time he was here because he knows the public likes it.

......The second encore was an instrumental version of a song called "You Raise Me Up". He needed some background sounds and he asked the cellos to improvise. They weren't happy but they did it. I couldn't find the instrumental version on youtube. Just the pop song - Josh Groban. Imagine the violin instead of the voice.

......In the first part of the concert we listened to the Rhapsody #1 by Enescu and Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky. I won't comment on these.
......I listened some time ago to a rendering, maybe the best one so far, of the Rhapsody. The Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache and "George Enescu" Philharmonic Orchestra, a recording from the Athenaeum back in 1978. As a "fun fact", the first clarinet is Aurelian Octav Popa. He's still a member of this orchestra. Listen to the sound... it's amazing.

Charles Dutoit

Nigel Kennedy, at the end of the concert

The concert outfit

......The Suite is Mussorgsky's most famous piano composition, and has become a showpiece for virtuoso pianists. It has also become known through various orchestrations and arrangements produced by other musicians and composers, with Ravel's arrangement being the most recorded and performed.
......Here's one version that I like. Sergiu Celibidache conducting London Symphony Orchestra in 1980.

......The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is playing again on September 12th. With Horia Andreescu as conductor and Joshua Bell as soloist. I'll be there.