{"id":47565,"date":"2017-09-17T12:43:41","date_gmt":"2017-09-17T16:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=47565"},"modified":"2017-09-17T12:43:41","modified_gmt":"2017-09-17T16:43:41","slug":"record-keeping-fairytales-myths-and-renee-fleming-at-summer-night-concert-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2017\/09\/17\/record-keeping-fairytales-myths-and-renee-fleming-at-summer-night-concert-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"RECORD KEEPING | Fairytales, Myths, And Ren\u00e9e Fleming AT Summer Night Concert 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Summer
The Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace provides a magical setting for Ren\u00e9e Fleming at The Summer Night Concert 2017 with the Vienna Philharmonic \u2014 conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. (Photo: Leonhard Konitsch\/Flickr<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Sch\u00f6nbrunn 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 \u2018must see\u2019 on any visit to Vienna but be warned that the crowds of tourists are pretty overwhelming too.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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 Ren\u00e9e 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: Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s “Song to the Moon” from Rusalka,\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0a rarity fromDvo\u0159\u00e1k’s opera Armida, <\/em>and\u00a0<\/em>some Rachmaninov songs. All the selections were beautifully sung, with Eschenbach ever-sensitive to Fleming\u2019s rubato.<\/p>\n

On its own the Vienna Philharmonic began the concert with a rousing Carnaval Overture<\/em> and ended with what has become a standard encore piece for these concerts, Johann Strauss II\u2019s Wiener Blut Waltz<\/em> as only they can play it.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2014 \u2014 \u2014 \u2014<\/h1>\n

\"SummerSummer Night Concert 2017. Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace, Vienna. \u201cFairytales & Myths.\u201d Dvo\u0159\u00e1k: Carnaval Overture. Armida \u201cAs I merrily pursued a gazelle.\u201d Rusalka \u201cSong to the Moon.\u201d Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty (excerpts). Rachmaninov: Three Songs. Humperdinck: H\u00e4nsel and Gretel: Prelude. Williams: Harry Potter: Hedwig\u2019s Theme. Stravinsky: Firebird Suite (excerpts). Smetana: The Bartered Bride: Dance of the Comedians. Johann Strauss II: Wiener Blut Waltz. Ren\u00e9e Fleming, soprano. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra\/Christoph Eschenbach. Sony Classical Blu-ray Disc 88985425959. Total Time: 85:00.<\/em><\/p>\n

Summer Night Concert 2017<\/strong> is available at Amazon.ca<\/a><\/span> and iTunes<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/i>
\n<\/b><\/h3>\n

Want more updates on Toronto-centric classical music news and reviews before anyone else finds out? Follow us on\u00a0<\/i>Facebook<\/i><\/u><\/a>\u00a0or <\/i>Twitter<\/i><\/u><\/a> for all the latest.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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