05.07.2013
Daniel Barenboim to appear alongside the Berlin Staatskapelle Orchestra
The concerts by the Berlin Staatskapelle conducted by Daniel Barenboim will take place at the Mikhailovsky Theatre on 8 and 9 September. The world-famous musician is dedicating the concerts to the theatre’s 180th anniversary, which will be celebrated on 7 November 2013.
“The Mikhailovsky Theatre is extraordinarily beautiful and itself serves as an invitation to music”, the maestro said on his first visit here last autumn. At that time the Musical Director and Principal Conductor at La Scala in Milan as well as the Staatsoper and Staatskapelle in Berlin, Barenboim became closely acquainted with the theatre and the opportunities it presented. He held a press conference in the main foyer. “It is music that determines the quality of life of the whole of society, every member of it.” Those words, which expressed Daniel Barenboim’s credo, were later cited many times by journalists. They also recalled his promise to return a year later and give two concerts with the Staatskapelle for St. Petersburg’s music lovers.
“For the sake of audiences brought up on Evgeny Mravinsky’s concerts I would like to visit St. Petersburg and Russia more often”, said the musician, who is linked to the country in many ways. Daniel Barenboim was born in Argentina, but his grandparents from both sides of his family emigrated from Russia. He has a Russian wife, and has a good grasp of the language.
The eminent conductor associates St. Petersburg primarily with the figure of Evgeny Mravinsky. Barenboim’s words about the great master, broadcast on TV, drew a massive emotional response. “I will never forget hearing the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Mravinsky for the first time in 1962”, he said in an interview on 100TV. “Not because it is a great orchestra — there are many other outstanding orchestras in the world, but because Mravinsky connected in a unique way with the musicians. All the bows moved absolutely synchronically in the string section, just like gymnasts at a May Day parade. And Mravinsky was able to create such a cold atmosphere that if you were sitting in the hall you wanted to put a coat on. This was not from a lack of emotion, but on the contrary, from its excess”.
“An excess of emotion” is what St. Petersburg audiences can expect from these concerts conducted by one of the greatest musicians of our time along with his celebrated Berlin orchestra. Daniel Barenboim’s concerts will set the tone for the whole musical season, which promises to be a rich one full of memorable events.
“The Mikhailovsky Theatre is extraordinarily beautiful and itself serves as an invitation to music”, the maestro said on his first visit here last autumn. At that time the Musical Director and Principal Conductor at La Scala in Milan as well as the Staatsoper and Staatskapelle in Berlin, Barenboim became closely acquainted with the theatre and the opportunities it presented. He held a press conference in the main foyer. “It is music that determines the quality of life of the whole of society, every member of it.” Those words, which expressed Daniel Barenboim’s credo, were later cited many times by journalists. They also recalled his promise to return a year later and give two concerts with the Staatskapelle for St. Petersburg’s music lovers.
“For the sake of audiences brought up on Evgeny Mravinsky’s concerts I would like to visit St. Petersburg and Russia more often”, said the musician, who is linked to the country in many ways. Daniel Barenboim was born in Argentina, but his grandparents from both sides of his family emigrated from Russia. He has a Russian wife, and has a good grasp of the language.
The eminent conductor associates St. Petersburg primarily with the figure of Evgeny Mravinsky. Barenboim’s words about the great master, broadcast on TV, drew a massive emotional response. “I will never forget hearing the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Mravinsky for the first time in 1962”, he said in an interview on 100TV. “Not because it is a great orchestra — there are many other outstanding orchestras in the world, but because Mravinsky connected in a unique way with the musicians. All the bows moved absolutely synchronically in the string section, just like gymnasts at a May Day parade. And Mravinsky was able to create such a cold atmosphere that if you were sitting in the hall you wanted to put a coat on. This was not from a lack of emotion, but on the contrary, from its excess”.
“An excess of emotion” is what St. Petersburg audiences can expect from these concerts conducted by one of the greatest musicians of our time along with his celebrated Berlin orchestra. Daniel Barenboim’s concerts will set the tone for the whole musical season, which promises to be a rich one full of memorable events.
