<Translated automatically, it will be edited later>
From January 7-9, 2008, the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and Choir conducted by Alexander Vedernikov toured the La Scala Theater in Milan.
Despite the fact that the two theaters have a long and close relationship, the tour of the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra in Milan is at least a non–ordinary event. And if we consider that right on the eve of the performances in Milan, the orchestra, under the direction of its chief conductor, also performed in St. Petersburg, in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic, where it had not appeared at all over the past few decades, then we can safely say that the last trip is a significant milestone in the history of the collective.
The performance in St. Petersburg took place in relatively difficult conditions: On the morning of January fifth, the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra flew out of Moscow, held a full-scale rehearsal at the St. Petersburg Philharmonic in the afternoon, and performed a concert in the evening of the same day. For many symphony ensembles, such a schedule does not seem unusual, but for a theater orchestra it cannot be called familiar.
It was all the more pleasant to observe the friendly reaction of St. Petersburg listeners to each piece performed.
At the same time, the concert in St. Petersburg demonstrated that the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra has a large technical and emotional reserve, and the compressed schedule of the visit to St. Petersburg did not affect the quality of its performance in any way - the reaction of the audience was proof of this.
It should also be said that the team, led by its chief conductor, prepared an additional encore for St. Petersburg residents: "Hymn to the Great City" from R. Glier's ballet "The Bronze Horseman". Recently, this music can be heard more often at the railway station than from the concert stage, so the performance of the Anthem for a moment created an almost visible bridge between the two capitals and made the farewell of the band and the audience even warmer.
It would not be a big exaggeration to say that the vast majority of holders of the La Scala Symphony subscription (as well as St. Petersburg listeners) are not familiar with the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra as a symphonic ensemble.
But if the band performed in St. Petersburg at the invitation of Yuri Temirkanov, which in itself was already an excellent recommendation, then the invitation to Milan was in some sense an advance, especially since the orchestra performed there on the same subscription with well-known European ensembles.
An example is the Gewandhaus Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly. This, of course, indicates a serious trust in the Bolshoi Theater, but at the same time it also indicates that the expectations of the concert organizers were at a very certain high level, which imposed significant responsibility.
Based on the results of the performances, we can say that the performance of the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra in Milan exceeded all expectations. Three performances took place. During all three, the hall was absolutely full –— it was impossible to find a single empty seat.
All three times the audience received the orchestra with delight, at the end of the first movement ("Francesca da Rimini" by P. Tchaikovsky and "Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini" by S. Rachmaninov, soloist – Nikolai Lugansky) and at the end of the concert (cantata "Alexander Nevsky" by S. Prokofiev) the applause did not stop for 15-20 minutes. The encore chosen by Alexander Vedernikov (the epigraph to S. Prokofiev's opera "War and Peace") can theoretically be called controversial, but practice has shown that such a choice did not tire or disappoint the audience at all, but on the contrary, caused even more stormy and long applause.
Despite the fact that the program of the three concerts was the same, all three, of course, turned out to be different in terms of emotional mood. The storm and onslaught of the first performance, designed to conquer the Italian opera capital in one fell swoop, were replaced by a calmer, even measured, second performance.
Perhaps the third concert can be called the most balanced in terms of creativity. However, the point of view of the performers does not always coincide with the reaction of the audience: three "different" orchestras of the Bolshoi Theater invariably caused a stormy and warm reaction from the audience.
A part of the triumph of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra was shared by the soloist, pianist Nikolai Lugansky. He is well known to Moscow listeners and his concerts, both solo and with an orchestra, invariably gather full halls.
In May 2008, Nikolai Lugansky, together with Alexander Vedernikov and the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, will perform all Rachmaninoff's works for piano and orchestra in two concerts. The listeners of St. Petersburg and Milan heard a smaller part of this project, "Rhapsody on the theme of Paganini," and the reaction of the audience in both cities was the same: after the performance, Lugansky was called on stage several times and he was literally forced to bide.
Speaking about these symphonic tours, it is impossible to ignore the role played by the Bolshoi Theater Choir under the direction of Valery Borisov, and the soloist, mezzo-soprano Elena Manistina. The literally hypnotizing beauty and power of the sound of the choir in "Alexander Nevsky" were replaced by the stern beauty and sadness in Manistina's voice.
In general, considering a number of symphonic tours of the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra as a single line, we can say that each subsequent trip demonstrates the orchestra's increasingly confident playing in European halls, which are acoustically seriously different from Russian concert halls and even more so from theatrical acoustics. On the other hand, there is an increasingly violent reaction from European halls to the performances of the band under the direction of Maestro Vedernikov. Although the limit has clearly not been reached yet.
Source.
From January 7-9, 2008, the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and Choir conducted by Alexander Vedernikov toured the La Scala Theater in Milan.
Despite the fact that the two theaters have a long and close relationship, the tour of the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra in Milan is at least a non–ordinary event. And if we consider that right on the eve of the performances in Milan, the orchestra, under the direction of its chief conductor, also performed in St. Petersburg, in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic, where it had not appeared at all over the past few decades, then we can safely say that the last trip is a significant milestone in the history of the collective.
The performance in St. Petersburg took place in relatively difficult conditions: On the morning of January fifth, the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra flew out of Moscow, held a full-scale rehearsal at the St. Petersburg Philharmonic in the afternoon, and performed a concert in the evening of the same day. For many symphony ensembles, such a schedule does not seem unusual, but for a theater orchestra it cannot be called familiar.
It was all the more pleasant to observe the friendly reaction of St. Petersburg listeners to each piece performed.
At the same time, the concert in St. Petersburg demonstrated that the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra has a large technical and emotional reserve, and the compressed schedule of the visit to St. Petersburg did not affect the quality of its performance in any way - the reaction of the audience was proof of this.
It should also be said that the team, led by its chief conductor, prepared an additional encore for St. Petersburg residents: "Hymn to the Great City" from R. Glier's ballet "The Bronze Horseman". Recently, this music can be heard more often at the railway station than from the concert stage, so the performance of the Anthem for a moment created an almost visible bridge between the two capitals and made the farewell of the band and the audience even warmer.
It would not be a big exaggeration to say that the vast majority of holders of the La Scala Symphony subscription (as well as St. Petersburg listeners) are not familiar with the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra as a symphonic ensemble.
But if the band performed in St. Petersburg at the invitation of Yuri Temirkanov, which in itself was already an excellent recommendation, then the invitation to Milan was in some sense an advance, especially since the orchestra performed there on the same subscription with well-known European ensembles.
An example is the Gewandhaus Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly. This, of course, indicates a serious trust in the Bolshoi Theater, but at the same time it also indicates that the expectations of the concert organizers were at a very certain high level, which imposed significant responsibility.
Based on the results of the performances, we can say that the performance of the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra in Milan exceeded all expectations. Three performances took place. During all three, the hall was absolutely full –— it was impossible to find a single empty seat.
All three times the audience received the orchestra with delight, at the end of the first movement ("Francesca da Rimini" by P. Tchaikovsky and "Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini" by S. Rachmaninov, soloist – Nikolai Lugansky) and at the end of the concert (cantata "Alexander Nevsky" by S. Prokofiev) the applause did not stop for 15-20 minutes. The encore chosen by Alexander Vedernikov (the epigraph to S. Prokofiev's opera "War and Peace") can theoretically be called controversial, but practice has shown that such a choice did not tire or disappoint the audience at all, but on the contrary, caused even more stormy and long applause.
Despite the fact that the program of the three concerts was the same, all three, of course, turned out to be different in terms of emotional mood. The storm and onslaught of the first performance, designed to conquer the Italian opera capital in one fell swoop, were replaced by a calmer, even measured, second performance.
Perhaps the third concert can be called the most balanced in terms of creativity. However, the point of view of the performers does not always coincide with the reaction of the audience: three "different" orchestras of the Bolshoi Theater invariably caused a stormy and warm reaction from the audience.
A part of the triumph of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra was shared by the soloist, pianist Nikolai Lugansky. He is well known to Moscow listeners and his concerts, both solo and with an orchestra, invariably gather full halls.
In May 2008, Nikolai Lugansky, together with Alexander Vedernikov and the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, will perform all Rachmaninoff's works for piano and orchestra in two concerts. The listeners of St. Petersburg and Milan heard a smaller part of this project, "Rhapsody on the theme of Paganini," and the reaction of the audience in both cities was the same: after the performance, Lugansky was called on stage several times and he was literally forced to bide.
Speaking about these symphonic tours, it is impossible to ignore the role played by the Bolshoi Theater Choir under the direction of Valery Borisov, and the soloist, mezzo-soprano Elena Manistina. The literally hypnotizing beauty and power of the sound of the choir in "Alexander Nevsky" were replaced by the stern beauty and sadness in Manistina's voice.
In general, considering a number of symphonic tours of the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra as a single line, we can say that each subsequent trip demonstrates the orchestra's increasingly confident playing in European halls, which are acoustically seriously different from Russian concert halls and even more so from theatrical acoustics. On the other hand, there is an increasingly violent reaction from European halls to the performances of the band under the direction of Maestro Vedernikov. Although the limit has clearly not been reached yet.
Source.
The orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre conquered Milan
ClassicalMusicNews.Ru.
January 21, 2008
January 21, 2008
