Brussels Philharmonic
conductor Michel Tabachnik Piano Jan Michiels
Johannes Brahms: Tragische ouverture (1880) Iannis Xenakis: Synaphai, pianoconcerto (1969)
Johannes Brahms: Symfonie N°2 (1877)
The symphony orchestra, founded in 1935, is very conscious of its rich heritage, but it is also open to future possibilities, combining tradition with a sense and taste for new works. It is based in Flagey, where it prepares for all its activities in Brussels, Belgium, and elsewhere. Above all, the Brussels Philharmonic attempts to reach the public through the care and passion that it puts into its performances. Its main aims are to bring people together through music and to make each concert an exceptional experience. Michel Tabachnik, the conductor and artistic director, plays an important role in this regard. The orchestra has an international reputation, with a residence in Paris (Cité de la Musique and Salle Pleyel) and regular concerts in the Netherlands (Concertgebouw Amsterdam, De Doelen Rotterdam).
Jan Michiels, pianist
Personally, I find it totally fascinating to arrange for a collision between two apparently diametrically opposed worlds, that of Brahms and that of Xenakis. Admittedly, they only collide on paper, because the reality of the sound is different from that of rational language. In both Brahms and Xenakis, we feel and hear that extreme emotion can often be associated with intense structures. And that (definitely in Xenakis and throughout German Romanticism since Goethe) nature is an essential source of inspiration for this.
Favoriete boek? De I Tjing.
Bij het ontbijt, drink ik graag groene thee, zwarte koffie én Stolichnaya vodka.
Ik bewonder het meest Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
Ik vind dat kunst in verband moet staan met de rest van de wereld, meer nog: ik vind dat de ‘rest van de wereld’ (en dan bedoel ik eigenlijk de ‘elite’ – de beleidsmensen) dringend moet gaan inzien dat de wereld niet zonder authentieke kunstbeleving kan – niet als ornament maar als vast fundament vanaf het prille begin van elk mensenleven
Indien geen inspiratie? Luisteren… Ecouter… Ascoltare… Zuhören…
Brussels
Co-prod. Flagey, Brussels Philharmonic, Ars Musica Supported by Réseau Varèse
Comments
Le film sur le webblog de Brussels Philharmonic ou on voit seulement du Brahms est ridicule dans le context d'un festival international de la musique contemporaine.
A.G.
I do not understand at all how a program with 10 minutes of Xenakis and 70 minutes of Brahms can be of any interest in a contemporary music festival, simply for reasons of so called constructive parameters or the idea that a collision of both worlds could simply provoke some personal fascination. A great archtectural space of e.g. Corbusier (Xenakis) packed and filled up with massive 19 century furniture, dusty carpets and old paintings, whatever beauty they might have, explains the uneasy feeling I get seeing this program. A complex polyphonic mass of Ockeghem would have been a least better combination if you want. A Brahms-Xenakis-Brahms menu is something you would also never like to experience on your plate in a top quality restaurant. It is clear there has not been carefull thinking about the underlying esthetical concepts, affects and percepts both composers represent. Anything goes one would think. The next move could be the Mozart Requiem with a small 8 minute piece of Ligeti. Let's be honest if building bridges between diverse esthetical musical worlds is the aim, they can do much much better!
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