Fanfare to break the silence

6'

Rotterdam Philharmonc Orchestra

Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Adam Hickox.

 

4 September 2020.

If you could compose the notes with which the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra will open its new concert season under corona conditions, what would you write? A playful, fanfare-like piece for brass, says composer Mathilde Wantenaar, and then she hesitates. "I haven't definitely decided yet, but I'm thinking of ... well, let me tie the knot now then: it starts with a short solo - a single horn - symbolising the loneliness of all those months of corona silence, which should connect with the deployment of the entire brass section, after which the party breaks loose." It was quite a last-minute assignment for a short opening piece for the brass section with some percussion, because corona means that that group has less to do in the reduced orchestra now sitting on stage. "It has a playful slant, a bit jazzy, Dixieland-like, with the undertone of hup, get back into it, make some nice music. A festive kick-off, that's what it is.

NRC: Adventurous and sharp season opener.

 

At the Rotterdam Doelen this weekend, the season opened with an adventurous concert by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra led by chief conductor Lahav Shani. Relief and joy also prevailed at the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra last week: finally live concerts again, on stage, in front of 'real' audiences. For the season's opening, a programme that was adventurous in every way was rigged The young composer Mathilde Wantenaar wrote her Fanfare to Break the Silence for brass ensemble (with percussionist) especially for the occasion It turned out to be a varied work with two faces A penetrating, tattoo-like solo lament flows into big band-like collective swing The high and widely spaced horns were noticeably more in their element in the 'classical' passages.

 

Mischa Spel, NRC, 7 September 2020.