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“Bluebeard’s Castle” at ViennaAdam Fischer was on the podium of another famous orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in April. The program was Mozart’s Linz Symphony and Bartok’s opera “Bluebeard’s castle” (concert version, sung in Hungarian). The German mezzo-soprano Iris Vermillion sang Judith and the American James Johnson was Duke Bluebeard. They both sang well but their Hungarian was not convincing. Since the Viennese do not speak Hungarian, it was not an issue for most of the audience. The problem was with the orchestra. Since the Vienna Symphony is a concert orchestra, they are not familiar with Bartok’s masterpiece. In this masterpiece the orchestra must express the emotion of the characters more than the singers, but this orchestra played as they would a symphony, without emotion. It seemed like only the conductor know the story. It was different from Hungarian orchestras, but with their paramount
technique, they won bravo calls from a satisfied audience.
Budapest Spring Festival with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
The concert started with Haydn’s two choral works; " Svanisce in un momento " from "Il ritorno di Tobia" and the Madrigal "Der Sturm". The Hungarian Radio Choir sang beautifully as usual. Next was Mozart’s Prague Symphony. Dynamic and lively but still elegant, the orchestra played everything perfectly. Strings without vibrato made a warm and interesting tone. Solo flute and oboe showed the high quality. We seldom hear this kind of perfect Mozart at a concert. After the intermission they played Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8. Adam Fischer and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra played this piece last October at its home in Bamberg. Beginning with lyrical G-Minor theme followed by the flute solo, the orchestra played very cheery first movement. In the lyrical third movements, the strings and oboe solo described the beautiful scenery of Bohemia. The finale started with rather slow tempo, but later progressed dramatically. Rich string section of the orchestra played the slow variation theme very romantic. By contrast the wild brass instruments were prominent in the coda.
It was a superb concert that not only audience, but also the musicians had fun.
100th anniversary of Palau de la Musica – Haydn Orchestra Spanish Tour
Since it was a closed performance, only the VIPs of the Catalonia government and few lucky persons attended. But through the news program of the local TV station, many citizens watched the performance. The concert started with the national anthem by the resident organization Orfeó Català, followed by “The Creation” with the soloists, Veronica Cangemi, Roberto Sacca, and Thomas Quasthoff. The star singer Thomas Quasthoff was a frequent guest of Haydn Orchestra in early 1990s. He appeared in the TV production of “the Creation for children” in 1992. It has been almost 16 years since his last time with the Haydn Orchestra, but he was really amazing. His low voice was so beautiful that nobody can sing like him. His voice made an interesting contrast with the lyrical tenor of Roberto Sacca. Although German is not their mother tongue, Olfeò Català, the powerful chorus was one of the highlight of the concert. The Haydn Orchestra under the baton of Adam Fischer was true to its name of “Haydn Specialists”. Not just accompanying the soloists and choir, the orchestra played with refinement and character. The performance was a lanmark achievement in the history of the beautiful concert hall. Next day the Haydn Orchestra and Adam Fischer traveled to the Spanish capital Madrid and repeated the performance at the national concert hall. Compared to Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, this hall is modern and has very beautiful acoustics. Because of the traveling from Barcelona, the orchestra and soloists were a little tired, and the performance without intermission was a test of their endurance. However, the enthusiastic audience rose to their feet and the orchestra got a storm of applause. This year’s Spanish Tour was a great success. Go back to Top
London Philharmonic Guest Performance
Not only European continent, Adam Fischer is also popular in the UK. On 25th
January he was on the podium of the Royal Festival Hall with the London
Philharmonic Orchestra. After the overture came Bartok’s Violin Concerto No.2. Since this concerto was technically very difficult, the soloist Shlomo Minz was very nervous. Although he showed his technique, he could not express his musicality.
After the intermission was Dvorak’s “From the new world”, Adam Fischer played
this symphony last September with the Haydn Orchestra. The London Philharmonic
is much larger than Haydn Orchestra and they are very good at romantic
symphonies. The result was much better than last year. The London Philharmonic
showed flexibility and capability with this symphony. Go back to Top
Haydn Orchestra celebrates 20th anniversary at FertödTop level musicians from Vienna and Budapest gathered at Eisenstadt and under the baton of young conductor Adam Fischer and a first concert took place on 28 May 1987. Twenty years later on 27 May 2007, the orchestra celebrated the anniversary at Esterhaza castle in Fertöd, where Haydn performed his famous “Farewell” symphony for the first time. The programme of the anniversary concert was Haydn’s symphony No. 49 “La Passione”, and the cantata “Berenice che fai” with the soprano Raffaella Milanesi, who had sang Euredice in “L’anima del filosofo” in Eisenstadt. After the intermission came a Handel aria from “Ariodante”, and Haydn’s symphony No. 88. Since the Esterhaza castle doesn’t have a large concert hall like the
Haydnsaal, the orchestra performed in the Music Room, which is the largest in
the castle. The audience were divided into two rooms and in between there is a
wall with 3 doors. The doors were wide open but unfortunately, the audience in
the second room could not see the orchestra well. However, the small audience
enjoyed wonderful music in at-home atmosphere.
New Year Concert 2008 at Budapest with Haydn Orchestra
Celebrating New Year as a Schengen country, the National Concert Hall in
Budapest invited the Haydn Orchestra. The program was Joseph Haydn’s masterpiece
“The Creation”, a very beautiful piece suitable for the beginning of the year.
The concert in the evening was long sold out. When the top level soloists,
Veronica Cangemi, John Mark Ainsley and Florian Boesch, and Adam Fischer came on
the stage, the audience applauded so loudly and it was already a festive
atmosphere. The Hungarian Radio Choir took center role of the oratorio “The Creation”. In the famous choir piece, No. 13, ”Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes”, the choir had shown the triumph of light over dark. And in the finale the Chior, the soloists and the Haydn Orchestra created powerful effect. When the piece was finished there was short silence, followed by storm of applause.
The Béla Bartok National Concert Hall wants to make the New Year concert a
tradition. The plan is to invite world top orchestras and conductors and perform
“The Creation” every year. Next year’s plan is not officially announced yet, but
probably Adam Fischer will conduct the London Philharmonic Orchestra. |
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Content © 1996 -
2008 Adam Fischer & Haydn Orchestra Fan Club
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For
the past few years, Adam Fischer has been one of the important guest conductors
of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. He appears on its podium almost every year.
This time, he invited the orchestra to his home town Budapest. As a part of the
Budapest Spring Festival, they performed at the Bartok National Concert Hall on
20th of March.
The
second largest city in Spain, Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia. The city is
famous for Art Nouveau architecture, for example the famous Sagrada Familia by
Antoni Gaudi, and the UNESCO world heritage site Palau de la Musica. On 9th of
February 2008, Barcelona invited Adam Fischer and the Austro-Hungarian Haydn
Orchestra, cerebrating the 100th anniversary of this beautiful concert hall,
with Haydn’s masterpiece “The Creation”. 
When
the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra was founded in 1987, Hungary was still a
communist country and the border between Hungary and Austria was part of the
Iron Curtain. 20 years later, both Austria and Hungary have joined the EU and
signed the Schengen agreement. Since last December, there is no more passport
control on the border. That was the dream of Adam Fischer. 