The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra’s first concert in 2017, on Friday 13 January (Kolarac, 8pm), is dedicated to Bruckner’s grandiose Symphony No. 7. An old friend of our orchestra, conductor Cristian Mandeal, will offer his interpretation of this masterpiece as part of the concert series For Connoisseurs.
 
The philharmonic connoisseurs can expect intense seventy minutes of music, demonstrating a broad spectrum of human emotions through four large-scale movements: from deep suffering to triumphant joy, from tragedy to vivacity of life. The Seventh Symphony brought Bruckner the greatest acknowledgement he had received in his life and remains one of his best known works.
 
It has been more than ten years since the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra’s last performance of this monumental piece, in which 85 musicians play the role of a single soloist. This time, they will be directed by Cristian Mandeal, the most important Romanian conductor nowadays, a regular guest of the Belgrade Philharmonic for more than three decades and an experienced connoisseur of Bruckner’s music:
 
“I am delighted to perform this symphony with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, especially  since it poses a big challenge for us. On the one hand, all orchestra groups are fully involved and every player individually has an equally demanding role. On the other hand, our goal is to create a team – the unique and monumental symphonic organism, which is the principal idea of Bruckner’s music”, said conductor Mandeal, who hails Bruckner as the most important symphonist in the history of music.
 
Bruckner’s symphonic oeuvre is characterised by the richness of sound, polyphonic form and significantly extended size and length of the pieces. As a result, the Symphony No. 7, his most popular work of this genre, is an ideal choice for the second concert of the series For Connoisseurs. The next treat for advanced concertgoers is scheduled for 3 February, under the baton of Gabriel Feltz, the next Chief Conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra.