Photo: Justyna Mielnikiewicz
The ambitious Eastern European youth orchestra travelled to Brussels for a performance at the Belgian BOZAR
The youth orchestra made up of members from all over Central and Eastern Europe performed at the Royal Brussels Conservatory at BOZAR - Palais des Beaux-Arts. By brining together young musical talents from Belarus, Ukraine, Poland and other countries to the east of the European Union, including Moldavia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgiam, the initiative is meant to foster relations between Poland and the country's Eastern neighbours, as well as the rest of Europe.
Pawel Kotla conducted the orchestra, with Peter Jablonski on piano, performing Sergey Prokofiev's Scythian Suite, op. 20, Karol Szymanowski's Symphony no. 4 for piano and orchestra, op. 60 and Dmitry Shostakovich's Symphony no. 5, op. 47.
The I, Culture Orchestra follows the example of such renowned ensembles as the European Union Youth Orchestra and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. It aims to tour the most prestigious concert halls in Europe as a youth ambassador of the Eastern Partnership.
Poland's location at the heart of Europe has endowed this nation with a long history of connecting Europe to the east and west. In commemorating the Polish Presidency of the EU Council, it should be emphasised that both geographical regions have had a strong influence on European cultural identity. The project aims to bring on permanent change in the approach towards orchestra education in the participating countries and hopefully leave a strong impression on the musical map of Europe.
As part of this project, young and talented musicians from Eastern Europe have the opportunity to work under the direction of some of the most eminent teachers from leading orchestras in Western Europe, such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Opera de Lyon and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. All participants are under 25 years of age. Auditions took place in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova between the 18-25th of February and mid-March of this year. Out of the 700 people who auditioned, only 100 were successful.
The aim is to achieve the highest artistic level possible, comparable to the best European orchestras of this type. Large-scale cooperation has so far been confirmed by the participation of such exceptional musicians as British conductor and violinist Sir Neville Marriner (founder of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra and music director of the Los Angeles, Minnesota and Stuttgart Symphony Orchestras) and German classical violinist and pianist Julia Fischer (winner of the International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition and the Eighth Eurovision Competition for Young Instrumentalists, with a repertoire that spans from Bach to Penderecki).
The Palais des Beaux-Arts (BOZAR) is a cultural venue, founded in 1928, which houses a cinema, concert halls and the National Orchestra of Belgium. Since 2002, the venue includes seven artistic departments, including: Bozar Expo, Bozar Music, Bozar Cinema, Bozar Dance, Bozar Theatre, Bozar Literature, Bozar Studios and Bozar Architecture.
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Date: 4th of November, 2011
Venue: Palais des Beaux-Arts, BOZAR
Organised by: Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Project cofinanced by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
I, CULTURE Orchestra is a Flagship Project of the Cultural Programme of the Polish Presidency. For more information on the project, see: I, CULTURE Orchestra
Source: Adam Mickiewicz Institute