<The title of the article and the text are translated into English automatically, and will be edited in the future>
In February 2007, the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra will perform two concerts in Germany: on February 10 in Munich and on February 11 in Frankfurt.
The concert program includes "Pictures from the Exhibition" by M. Mussorgsky, "Romeo and Juliet" by P. Tchaikovsky, as well as the violin concerto by J. Sibelius and the First Piano Concerto by S. Rachmaninov.
Shunsuke Sato (violin) and Gerhard Oppitz (piano) will perform as soloists. Alexander Vedernikov, the musical director and chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre, will stand at the conductor's desk.
In addition, on the eve of the tour in Germany, another concert of the band will take place in Russia.
At the invitation of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency, the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra will perform in Sarov (formerly Arzamas-16). J. Sibelius's concerto for Violin and Orchestra will be performed by a young but already well-known violinist Rodion Petrov, and the orchestra conducted by A. Vedernikov will present the same works that German listeners will also hear.
On the eve of these concerts, Alexander Vedernikov talked about the upcoming tour, and also shared several more general considerations.
— What is the reason for your insistence on demonstrating the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra not only as an opera, but also as a symphony orchestra?
— If the Bolshoi Orchestra suddenly turned out to be the orchestra of a German theater, it would face a very symphonized repertoire. It is enough to recall one or another of Wagner's operas. At the Bolshoi Theatre, our repertoire is mainly based on Russian and Italian literature. This has happened historically, so it will not be possible to change it instantly. Moreover, it may not be necessary to abandon it completely.
On the other hand, such a set of literature is not enough for the orchestra to develop harmoniously. That is, for qualitative development, it is necessary to set additional tasks for the team. That's one reason.
The second reason is that it seems to me that if there is no orchestra in the Bolshoi Theater, which is interesting in itself, then it is not very decent for such a theater. In addition, we certainly have some creative ambitions that we can not only realize, but over time we get real opportunities for this.
Besides, I think it should be interesting for the orchestra itself. Of course, people are different, and someone can sit and play Donizetti for years and not feel any negative emotions about it. But someone may get bored of it.
— What guided you when choosing the program for these tours?
— Currently, the program of touring performances is always the fruit of negotiations. Personally, instead of playing, say, Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, I would have played something by Shostakovich or Prokofiev as the first play.
But now the following point is becoming more and more important, especially in Europe: people who arrange concerts and tours do not want to pay royalties.
Rather than paying the heirs of Shostakovich or Prokofiev, it is better to put Tchaikovsky in the program, getting rid of problems with deductions in principle. To be honest, I am against this approach, but people, of course, count money and they can also be understood.
— What is the reason for the choice of cities in which the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra will perform?
— Initially, all this was planned as an orchestral tour. Then, due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, several cities fell out of it, and two good cities remained, Munich and Frankfurt. No matter what, we decided not to abandon this idea.
In Munich, we will take part in the famous concert series, which is associated with the Hertnagel family. Artists such as Pierre Boulez, Christophe Eschenbach, the Orchestra de Paris perform with us in this subscription – that is, it is a very good company and it is not a shame to be in it. There is something similar in Frankfurt too.
— Considering that you often perform in Europe as a guest conductor, what can you say about the halls where concerts will be held?
— The Gasteig Hall in Munich is not without problems, but it is what it is. There's nothing better there anyway. And the Alte Oper hall in Frankfurt is a very good hall.
— Before you perform in Germany, you and the orchestra will hold a concert in Sarov. How important is it for you to perform there?
We have a rather specific country in many respects, and, among other features, there is such a thing as a Closed Administrative-Territorial Entity.
Probably, everyone understands what this means — this is a fairly large territory, which can actually be accessed only if there is direct evidence that you live, work or have the right to be there.
As a rule, there are far from the most uneducated people there, but just the opposite — these are the technical intelligentsia, scientists and so on, who, in connection with their work, are subject to a number of restrictions. At the same time, these are people who could make up a very decent audience for any orchestra and any theater, but dropped out of this process for very specific reasons.
And trying to at least partially fill the deficit of cultural impressions that objectively exists there is one of the important areas of our work. Firstly, these people always listen to music with a tremendous desire.
And secondly, here, unlike in other cases, we are not talking about the fact that you will go to an unknown place, where it is unknown who will come to the concert. Here, people of a certain, high level come to the hall, and it is extremely pleasant to perform in front of them.
For example, our choir sang two concerts last year — one in Obninsk and the other in Korolev. Both there and there, as far as I know, both the listeners and the team received positive impressions. As far as I understand, the leadership of the Ministry of Atomic Energy is also interested in holding such events, and is also ready to invest some money in this.
Finally, it is also an opportunity for us to go to a very special place. In addition to the fact that underground nuclear plants were built there for some reason, this is also one of the most significant milestones in the history of our national religious life. Getting there just like that is currently quite difficult. And we are given such an opportunity.
Source.
In February 2007, the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra will perform two concerts in Germany: on February 10 in Munich and on February 11 in Frankfurt.
The concert program includes "Pictures from the Exhibition" by M. Mussorgsky, "Romeo and Juliet" by P. Tchaikovsky, as well as the violin concerto by J. Sibelius and the First Piano Concerto by S. Rachmaninov.
Shunsuke Sato (violin) and Gerhard Oppitz (piano) will perform as soloists. Alexander Vedernikov, the musical director and chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre, will stand at the conductor's desk.
In addition, on the eve of the tour in Germany, another concert of the band will take place in Russia.
At the invitation of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency, the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra will perform in Sarov (formerly Arzamas-16). J. Sibelius's concerto for Violin and Orchestra will be performed by a young but already well-known violinist Rodion Petrov, and the orchestra conducted by A. Vedernikov will present the same works that German listeners will also hear.
On the eve of these concerts, Alexander Vedernikov talked about the upcoming tour, and also shared several more general considerations.
— What is the reason for your insistence on demonstrating the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra not only as an opera, but also as a symphony orchestra?
— If the Bolshoi Orchestra suddenly turned out to be the orchestra of a German theater, it would face a very symphonized repertoire. It is enough to recall one or another of Wagner's operas. At the Bolshoi Theatre, our repertoire is mainly based on Russian and Italian literature. This has happened historically, so it will not be possible to change it instantly. Moreover, it may not be necessary to abandon it completely.
On the other hand, such a set of literature is not enough for the orchestra to develop harmoniously. That is, for qualitative development, it is necessary to set additional tasks for the team. That's one reason.
The second reason is that it seems to me that if there is no orchestra in the Bolshoi Theater, which is interesting in itself, then it is not very decent for such a theater. In addition, we certainly have some creative ambitions that we can not only realize, but over time we get real opportunities for this.
Besides, I think it should be interesting for the orchestra itself. Of course, people are different, and someone can sit and play Donizetti for years and not feel any negative emotions about it. But someone may get bored of it.
— What guided you when choosing the program for these tours?
— Currently, the program of touring performances is always the fruit of negotiations. Personally, instead of playing, say, Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, I would have played something by Shostakovich or Prokofiev as the first play.
But now the following point is becoming more and more important, especially in Europe: people who arrange concerts and tours do not want to pay royalties.
Rather than paying the heirs of Shostakovich or Prokofiev, it is better to put Tchaikovsky in the program, getting rid of problems with deductions in principle. To be honest, I am against this approach, but people, of course, count money and they can also be understood.
— What is the reason for the choice of cities in which the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra will perform?
— Initially, all this was planned as an orchestral tour. Then, due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, several cities fell out of it, and two good cities remained, Munich and Frankfurt. No matter what, we decided not to abandon this idea.
In Munich, we will take part in the famous concert series, which is associated with the Hertnagel family. Artists such as Pierre Boulez, Christophe Eschenbach, the Orchestra de Paris perform with us in this subscription – that is, it is a very good company and it is not a shame to be in it. There is something similar in Frankfurt too.
— Considering that you often perform in Europe as a guest conductor, what can you say about the halls where concerts will be held?
— The Gasteig Hall in Munich is not without problems, but it is what it is. There's nothing better there anyway. And the Alte Oper hall in Frankfurt is a very good hall.
— Before you perform in Germany, you and the orchestra will hold a concert in Sarov. How important is it for you to perform there?
We have a rather specific country in many respects, and, among other features, there is such a thing as a Closed Administrative-Territorial Entity.
Probably, everyone understands what this means — this is a fairly large territory, which can actually be accessed only if there is direct evidence that you live, work or have the right to be there.
As a rule, there are far from the most uneducated people there, but just the opposite — these are the technical intelligentsia, scientists and so on, who, in connection with their work, are subject to a number of restrictions. At the same time, these are people who could make up a very decent audience for any orchestra and any theater, but dropped out of this process for very specific reasons.
And trying to at least partially fill the deficit of cultural impressions that objectively exists there is one of the important areas of our work. Firstly, these people always listen to music with a tremendous desire.
And secondly, here, unlike in other cases, we are not talking about the fact that you will go to an unknown place, where it is unknown who will come to the concert. Here, people of a certain, high level come to the hall, and it is extremely pleasant to perform in front of them.
For example, our choir sang two concerts last year — one in Obninsk and the other in Korolev. Both there and there, as far as I know, both the listeners and the team received positive impressions. As far as I understand, the leadership of the Ministry of Atomic Energy is also interested in holding such events, and is also ready to invest some money in this.
Finally, it is also an opportunity for us to go to a very special place. In addition to the fact that underground nuclear plants were built there for some reason, this is also one of the most significant milestones in the history of our national religious life. Getting there just like that is currently quite difficult. And we are given such an opportunity.
Source.
ClassicalMusicNews.ru.
February 7, 2007
February 7, 2007
The Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra tours in Sarov, Munich and Frankfurt
