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RECORD KEEPING | Fairytales, Myths, And Renée Fleming AT Summer Night Concert 2017

By Paul E. Robinson on September 17, 2017

Summer Night Concert Schönbrunn 2016 (Photo: Leonhard Konitsch/Flickr)
The Schönbrunn Palace provides a magical setting for Renée Fleming at The Summer Night Concert 2017 with the Vienna Philharmonic — conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. (Photo: Leonhard Konitsch/Flickr)

The Schönbrunn Palace is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Vienna. It was designed to be the summer residence of the Habsburgs and their entourage. It has 1,441 elaborately decorated and luxuriously-appointed rooms capable of accommodating more than a thousand people. Several years ago my wife and I visited the palace and were duly impressed with the historical artefacts and the enormous scale of the place. It is a ‘must see’ on any visit to Vienna but be warned that the crowds of tourists are pretty overwhelming too.

But while the palace itself is impressive enough, the vast gardens in the back, completed in 1780, are even more remarkable. The elaborate floral patterns, fountains and sculptures seem to go on forever. Atop a 60-metre hill in the far distance sits the columnar Gloriette. It was destroyed in World War II but fully restored in 1995. Every year since 2004 the Vienna Philharmonic has given a concert in the gardens to an audience numbering in the tens of thousands. It is said to be the world’s biggest annual classical open-air concert. For many years the orchestra shell was placed near the bottom of the Gloriette with the audience stretching all the way back to the palace. This year, the set-up was reversed with the shell placed near the palace facing a crowd that went back as far as the hillside just below the Gloriette. With such a large audience it would be impossible for many people to see or hear much of what was going on but huge screens and ranks of speakers have been installed around the gardens.

Only the greatest conductors and soloists are invited to appear in these concerts. Zubin Mehta has conducted twice, the late Lorin Maazel was here in 2013 and Valery Gergiev is due next year. Christoph Eschenbach made his second appearance this year with his long-time friend and colleague Renée Fleming. I heard them together on numerous occasions in the 1990s in works by Mozart and Strauss for the Houston Grand Opera and they always had a special rapport. As Fleming now nears the twilight of her career, she can still turn a phrase with the best of them. On this occasion, she gave the audience one of her signature tunes: Dvořák’s “Song to the Moon” from Rusalka,  a rarity fromDvořák’s opera Armida, and some Rachmaninov songs. All the selections were beautifully sung, with Eschenbach ever-sensitive to Fleming’s rubato.

On its own the Vienna Philharmonic began the concert with a rousing Carnaval Overture and ended with what has become a standard encore piece for these concerts, Johann Strauss II’s Wiener Blut Waltz as only they can play it.

The VPO has several concertmasters and on this occasion, it was the fine Bulgarian-born violinist Albena Danailova. The VPO has often been criticized in the past for refusing to hire women but in recent years it has tried to do better. In addition to Danailova there are now women sprinkled throughout the orchestra including a principal bassoonist, Sophie Dartigalongue.

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Summer Night Concert SchönbrunnSummer Night Concert 2017. Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna. “Fairytales & Myths.” Dvořák: Carnaval Overture. Armida “As I merrily pursued a gazelle.” Rusalka “Song to the Moon.” Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty (excerpts). Rachmaninov: Three Songs. Humperdinck: Hänsel and Gretel: Prelude. Williams: Harry Potter: Hedwig’s Theme. Stravinsky: Firebird Suite (excerpts). Smetana: The Bartered Bride: Dance of the Comedians. Johann Strauss II: Wiener Blut Waltz. Renée Fleming, soprano. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Christoph Eschenbach. Sony Classical Blu-ray Disc 88985425959. Total Time: 85:00.

Summer Night Concert 2017 is available at Amazon.ca and iTunes.

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