“Even on days when the Philadelphia Orchestra doesn’t have to move around Europe, some rogue contingent does so anyway, popping over to some neighboring city to meet an old teacher, or, more ambitiously, going in search of the Grand Budapest Hotel,” writes David Patrick Stearns, who is accompanying the Philadelphia Orchestra on its European tour, in Tuesday’s (5/26) Philadelphia Inquirer. “The actual hotel exterior in the super-scenic, Oscar-winning film of that name was a made-for-studio model, obviously not to be found in quaint Kurort Rathen, a half-hour’s train ride from Dresden.… Violinist Charlene Kwas led an early-morning contingent of a half-dozen musicians.… ‘Every time you experience some stunning beauty, it’s an inspiration for your music,’ [she said].… A feeling of well-being envelops this 2015 European tour, which has gone so smoothly that its major mishap so far was a wardrobe malfunction. Music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s concert jacket was damaged in transit.… On all other fronts, concerts are going so well they run into overtime due to applause and encores, routinely clocking in at 2 1/2 hours. At Sunday’s Dresdener Musikfestspiele concert in the beautiful Semperoper … the audience literally stomped its feet for an encore.”
Posted May 27, 2015
