The director of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestrathe celebrated Colombian teacher Andres Orozco-Estradahas returned to the country. On that occasion to conduct the complete of the five symphonies that the German composer Felix Mendelssohn wrote for full orchestra.
Recognized worldwide, Orozco-Estrada will be on the podium at the head of the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia in the cycle of three concerts that will be held at the Teatro Colón in Bogotá on August 26 and 27, and on September 2.
You may be interested in: Bogotá Philharmonic releases album of Beethoven piano concertos
The cycle of concerts has been called Mendelssohn Fest and is the first in an annual series of festivals. The medium and long-term idea of the National Symphony of Colombia and of maestro Orozco-Estrada is to recognize and make visible the work of various composers who have marked the history of symphonic music.
According to the organizers, this is a festival that in its first version begins with the figure of Mendelssohn and that year after year will have a new composer, a new experience for the public and a new opportunity to expand knowledge about symphonic music .
Before each concert, the one who is and has been the brand-new director of the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, French National Orchestra and Chicago Symphony -among others- will share with the public an illustrative context that will enrich the experience of listening to and enjoying each of the five symphonies by the German composer.
After writing 15 symphonies for string orchestra, Mendelssohn, a precocious compositional prodigy, he was just 15 years old when he wrote his first symphony for full orchestra and just 33 years old when he composed his last.
His music is characterized by retaining the classical models and practices of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, while including fundamental elements of Romanticism, the musical period that succeeded Classicism.
Also read: Cellist Zuill Baile, winner of the Grammy, performs in Bogotá
Descendant of a German-Jewish family, Mendelssohn was an admired composer, pianist, and conductor. Esteemed by Goethe, he performed Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion”, which he helped rediscover to the delight of music history and culture.
The Symphony Orchestra has invited to participate in the Festival to the Javeriano Chamber Choir and the Coroncoro Vocal Ensembleboth directed by the teacher Ana Paulina Álvarez, in the interpretation of Mendelssohn’s Second Symphony, a work that will close this all-time music gala in Bogotá.
The organizers of the cycle reported that the tickets are available at the box office of the Colon Theater and in tube. In addition, they announced that the “Mendelssohn Pass” gives the opportunity to purchase tickets with a special discount.
The cycle of concerts in the Colon Theater:
Friday, August 26, 7:30 p.m.
-Symphony No. 1 in C minor
-Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 “Italian”
Saturday, August 27, 7:30 p.m.
-Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56 “Scottish”
-Symphony No. 5 in D major, Op. 107 “Reform”
Friday, September 2, 7:30 p.m.
-Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 52 “Lobgesang”
