Andris Nelsons
Fridays in June
On three Friday nights in June, Stingray Classica presents prestigious concert premieres from the stage of the Gewandhaus Leipzig, Germany, in which the Gewandhaus Orchestra performs under the baton of conductor Andris Nelsons. Tune in on Friday, June 4, to see Nelsons conduct Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in combination with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in 2019. The following Friday, Nelsons once again takes the stage as principal conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, this time with the world premiere of Steffen Schleiermacher's commissioned composition, 'Relief for Orchestra'. On June 18, a final performance of Andris Nelsons conducting the Gewandhaus Orchestra concludes this series, here featuring his then-wife: the great Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais.
Nelsons conducts Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich
Friday, 4 June | 21:00
In May 2019, the new principal conductor of the Gewandhaus, Andris Nelsons, presented Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 with his orchestra in combination with Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with outstanding violinist Baiba Skride as the soloist. In this composition, the violin does not allow itself a break, continually tells its dark story and gets into a vicious circle of ostinato Passacaglia bass lines again and again falls into beguilingly beautiful singing. Tchaikovsky initially thought his 'Symphony of Fate' was a failure and believed himself to be at the end of his creative powers. It was probably the composer's nature, plagued by self-doubt, that made it almost impossible for him to develop a self-confident attitude to his own creative power. Between this two works, Skride performs Stravinsky's Elegy for Solo Violin.
Nelsons conducts Berg and Mendelssohn
Friday, 11 June | 21:00
Andris Nelsons’s starts off his official opening concert as principal conductor of the Gewandhausorchester with the world premiere of Steffen Schleiermacher's 'Relief for Orchestra'. Baiba Skride features as soloist in Alban Berg's Violin Concerto. In the slow finale the solo violin’s line is gradually joined by the rest of the first violin, providing a lovely moment between soloist and orchestra. Skride's encore is Imitatione delle Campane by von Westhoff, a Bach contemporary. The concert closes with a rendition of Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3, Op. 56, known as the 'Scottish' which actually premiered in the Leipzig Gewandhaus in 1842. Recorded on February 22/23, 2018 in the Gewandhaus, Leipzig.
Nelsons and Opolais perform Dvořák
Friday, 18 June | 21:00
Andris Nelsons, together with his then-wife, the great soprano Kristine Opolais and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig present a program dedicated to Antonin Dvořák, singing the melodies that the composer hid in all layers of his music with tender, warm, soft colors. Nelsons’ tempos remain calm and relaxed, allowing the omnipresent beauty of Dvořák’s music to unfold and flood the Gewandhaus. The program opens with Othello, a Concert Overture for Orchestra, Op. 93. Opolais performs “Song to the Moon” from Rusalka, “Songs my Mother Taught Me” from Gypsy Songs, Op. 55/4. This is followed by the Polonaise and 'O, marno, marno to je' from Rusalka and 'Dobrá! Já mu je dám!… Jak je mi?' from Smetana's opera Dalibor. The concert closes with a performance of Dvořák's Symphony no. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 (“From the New World”). Recorded at the Gewandhaus, Leipzig in May 2017.