It was a delight to watch the oboe, bassoon, violin and cello soloists for Haydn’s Sinfonia concertante in a semi circle round the conductor and in front of the orchestra. These thirty minutes were an absolute joy, and the audience showed it.
If the Haydn had been top notch, after the interval Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony went even better with a brisk energetic performance just as it would have been played in its early days in the courts of Europe.
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe has built up an enviable record of excellence. Add to this the hugely exciting enthusiasm and verve of conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and you cannot get much better. Still a youngster, born in 1975, he is French Canadian and since 2012 Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. We watched a conductor putting all he had into his direction of the Orchestra with limitless energy. A true inspiration.
The concert had begun with Richard Strauss’ Metamorphosen, Study for 23 Solo Strings. With a subtitle of In memoriam it was a deep and passionate thirty minutes representing all that is wrong with war, and in particular the destruction of Germany’s many concert halls and opera houses.
At the end of the concert the conductor could have received more applause but he demonstrated his need for a drink and off he went. The people round me were saying excellent, first class, wonderful. I was able to agree wholeheartedly. Everybody I spoke to seemed have been studying the joyful face of one member of the Orchestra or another, and comparing notes.
Event: Friday 16 August 2013 at 8.00pm