140 Years Grounded Berliner Philharmoniker at the Waldbhüne
On Saturday the 25th of June 2022, the “Berliner Philarmoniker” orchestra gave their end of season concert at the “Waldbühne” in Berlin. They will be reopening on 26th August 2022.
The concert this year was was conducted by Kirill Petrenko who fabulously, feeling each note of the program and together with orchestra immersed the audience into a melodic landscape. At the piano Kirill Gerstein gave a magnificent appearance.
The opening piece was “Kikimora”, composed by Anatoli Ljadow in 1909, which tells the story about a small and evil witch.
The ethereal lighting of the stage and the green nature surrounding “Waldbühne“ combined with the work of Ljadow created a mysterious yet a playful energy, in which one could feel as if Kikimora was hidden in the woods and observing the audience from the distance.
With the sunset the event continued with the piano and orchestra concert Nr.2 c-Moll op.18 (1900-1901) by Sergei Rachmaninow, played and interpreted by Kirill Gerstein who successfully created the hypnotic and trance like experience which the music inspires.
After a break, once the birds sang their last song before going to sleep and in the sky some bats surfed in search of insects; the concert continued with “Pictures at an Exhibition” from Modest Mussorgsky who created a concert which delivers vivid mental imagery of the musical story of his concert. Taking the listener on a journey encountering gnomes, seeing the “ballet of the unhatched”, to then entered the “catacombs” and meeting Baba-Jaga, to finally have a triumphant and epic arrival through the “The Great Gate of Kiew”.
The audience stood in ovation! This years concert together with the selection of composers – which were all of Russian heritage – proved that even with our unstable political times, art is a tool for union and music is a universal language.
We are proud art and culture open hearts and souls, the whole Universe was there.
Valeria Garci-Crespo Lopez
29 Th. of June 2022.
Image Valeria Garci-crespo López©
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