Friday, June 21, 2013

TULLE: The Festival de la Vézère
has debuted with its inaugural concert

After the Torrential Downpour, the sun!

Camerata Chicago, under the direction of Drostan Hall and with cellist Wendy Warner, offered the festival audience on Wednesday a very high caliber evening.

By Dragan Pérovic

Generosity: During the second part of the evening, Camerata Chicago performed the composition Chamber Symphony (Pilatus) by Mischa Zupko, which was specifically composed for this European tour, before concluding the evening masterfully with Beethoven’s 7th Symphony. Photo by Agnès Gaudin

Outstanding. The inaugural concert of the 2013 edition of the Festival de la Vézère took place Wednesday night at the Salle de l’Auzelou in Tulle, amidst terrible weather conditions. Under a torrential downpour, a group of concert-goers arrived at the concert drenched from head to toe. As such, they were not exactly in the best position to enjoy an evening of great music. But after the first few notes, everything was forgotten.

An Out-Of-This-World Experience

Formidable. Just like Camerata Chicago’s performance under the baton of an exuberant magician, Drostan Hall. This internationally-known ensemble has a powerful aesthetic that is supported by exemplary cohesion. The musicians go straight to what is essential; they have a touch that flies…Camerata Chicago, the first American orchestra to perform at the Festival de la Vézère, offered a taste of the evening’s festivities with their opening of the Marriage of Figaro by Mozart. The joy of this opera buffa was almost palpable, interpreted with precision and sensitivity.

Another ray of sunshine on Wednesday night was Dvorak’s Czech Suite in D Major. Then, the public was treated to a performance that was even more than extraordinary. Camerata Chicago accompanied a young instrumentalist who was disarming with her charm and simplicity, Wendy Warner. The cellist, who won the 4th Rostropovich Cello Competition in 1990, offered the audience the Haydn Cello Concerto in D Major. From the very first notes, the audience was completely spellbound. Wendy Warner’s sound is breathtaking. Playing from memory, she was one with her instrument. She IS the music! Her technique and her virtuosity border on perfection. But Wendy Warner has something more, that little hint of eternity that leaves you speechless because words cannot express it. A moment of greatness!

Translation by Camerata Chicago