06 Sep Our debut at Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Hamburg and Kiel
The English Chamber Orchestra makes their first appearance at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany.
In August, we performed at Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival (SHMF) at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Petrus-Kirche Kiel.
Since its inception in 1986, SHMF has been among the most spectacular international cultural events in the world. Instead of renowned concerts taking place in the usual concert halls and opera houses, they are set in beautiful castles and manors, in barns and stalls, in the most spectacular churches of Schleswig-Holstein and even in unusual locations such as shipyards and industrial halls.
This was the orchestras first appearance as part of the festival, with the theme for the programming this year being focussed around the city of London.
Directed by our Leader Stephanie Gonley we performed a varied programme of English repertoire, with a highlight being a thrilling rendition of Tippett’s Concerto for Double String Orchestra alongside pieces by Elgar, Purcell, Handel and Vaughan Williams.
We were joined by the principal oboist of the Berlin Philharmonic and international soloist Albrecht Mayer, who performed pieces inspired by the life and work of British oboist Léon Goossens, including Vaughan Williams’ Concerto in A minor for Oboe and Strings that was commissioned by Goossens in 1943 and first performed in 1944 in Liverpool.
Thank you to all the English Chamber Orchestra musicians, Stephanie Gonley and Albrecht Mayer for the two exceptional performances!