Next week, Herbert Blomstedt will conduct the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra when they return to Taiwan for the third time to perform at the National Concert Hall and at the Yuanlin Arts Center, Changhua County.
The orchestra will perform Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 at both venues. Their second piece in Taipei will be Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7. In Changhua, the second piece will be Beethoven's Symphony No. 3.
Blomstedt's work with the orchestra has been called the perfect match as the group travels worldwide and keeps European classical music alive.
Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 is commonly known as "Italian" and was first performed in 1833. The music features interpretations of street dancing, pilgrim marching and country ballads that were introduced to the composer during a stay in Italy.
Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 pulled the Austrian composer into public success when it premiered in 1884. Like his other works, the symphony combines stormy Romanticism with Classical structure and draws from folk tunes while expressing a desire and love for God and peace.
Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, called "the Eroica," is one of the greatest symphonies ever written, and marks a turning point in 19th-century musical expression. It established the symphony in its era and astonished its first audiences after it was composed in 1803 and 1804.
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra has been performing such masterpieces for 250 years and once gave premier performances of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms.
Other conductors of the orchestra besides Blomstedt have been Mendelssohn, Wilhelm Furtwaengler, Arthur Nikisch, Bruno Walter and Kurt Masur.
Blomstedt, 77, is a world-class maestro who has also collaborated with the Oslo Philharmonic, the Danish State Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Performance notes:
What: Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
When and where: March 1, 7:30pm, National Concert Hall, 21-1 Zhongshan S Rd, Taipei (
Tickets: NT$1,200 to NT$4,200; available through http://www.artsticket.com.tw
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