The Solti Centenary Concert


The Solti Centenary Concert

Similar Content

Browse content similar to The Solti Centenary Concert. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Chicago, and a celebration of the 100th birthday

0:00:220:00:25

of one of the great conductors of the 20th century -

0:00:250:00:29

the Hungarian maestro, Sir Georg Solti.

0:00:290:00:31

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

0:00:310:00:35

Solti, who died in 1997, was one of the great orchestral magicians.

0:00:350:00:40

His extraordinary energy, the rhythmic vitality

0:00:400:00:43

and his attention to detail, created exceptional virtuoso performances

0:00:430:00:47

in concert halls and opera houses all over the world.

0:00:470:00:50

His most important relationships

0:00:530:00:56

were at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London

0:00:560:00:59

where he was music director for 10 years from 1961.

0:00:590:01:02

And during that tenure,

0:01:020:01:03

he took the company to the highest international level.

0:01:030:01:08

And in Chicago,

0:01:080:01:10

he was music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 22 years.

0:01:100:01:14

On television, through touring and recording,

0:01:140:01:16

he turned it into one of the best-known orchestras in the world.

0:01:160:01:20

In 1995, Solti founded the World Orchestra For Peace

0:01:240:01:28

which Valery Gergiev conducts tonight.

0:01:280:01:31

He was a man with a character with a lot of fire.

0:01:310:01:34

And this fire was immediately...

0:01:350:01:39

Everyone was set on fire around him.

0:01:390:01:42

So he was, in a way, the keeper of the fire.

0:01:420:01:45

All my life I've grown up in wars, in revolution,

0:01:500:01:56

both fascist and communist,

0:01:560:02:00

it's taught me passionately to believe in peace.

0:02:000:02:04

Our concert takes place in Orchestra Hall,

0:02:070:02:10

part of Symphony Center in Downtown Chicago.

0:02:100:02:13

On stage - the World Orchestra For Peace.

0:02:130:02:16

APPLAUSE

0:02:160:02:19

Here to introduce the concert

0:02:190:02:21

and explain how this extraordinary orchestra came into being,

0:02:210:02:24

is Sir Georg Solti's widow, Valerie.

0:02:240:02:28

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

0:02:280:02:31

dearest friends.

0:02:310:02:33

For 22 years my husband was musical director

0:02:330:02:36

of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,

0:02:360:02:39

years he referred to as "the happiest in my life

0:02:390:02:43

"and the most artistically fulfilling.

0:02:430:02:46

Today, October the 21st, he would have been 100 years old.

0:02:460:02:51

APPLAUSE

0:02:510:02:54

He loved birthdays and so we're having a celebration -

0:03:000:03:04

a musical journey through his life

0:03:040:03:06

assisted by some of the great artists he worked with

0:03:060:03:09

and the only orchestra he ever created -

0:03:090:03:12

the World Orchestra For Peace.

0:03:120:03:14

The idea of a world orchestra started here in Chicago

0:03:150:03:19

one of the CSO orchestra members said,

0:03:190:03:22

"You know there's an organisation called Physicians For Peace,

0:03:220:03:25

"why can't we have Musicians For Peace?"

0:03:250:03:28

And the opportunity came when Boutros Boutros-Ghali,

0:03:280:03:31

the then secretary general of the United Nations,

0:03:310:03:34

invited Solti to give a concert

0:03:340:03:36

to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the organisation in Geneva.

0:03:360:03:41

He gathered together leading players

0:03:410:03:44

from over 40 of the finest leading world orchestras

0:03:440:03:48

and created the World Orchestra For Peace.

0:03:480:03:51

This orchestra is a living testament to Solti's belief

0:03:520:03:56

in the strength of music as an ambassador for peace.

0:03:560:04:00

Since my husband's death,

0:04:010:04:02

the orchestra has been conducted

0:04:020:04:05

by his friend and colleague Valery Gergiev,

0:04:050:04:07

to whom I am so grateful.

0:04:070:04:10

We begin the concert

0:04:100:04:11

with the Overture to Mozart's Marriage Of Figaro.

0:04:110:04:15

In 1938, Solti, aged 25, was given one performance

0:04:150:04:21

at the Budapest Opera.

0:04:210:04:24

The date was the 11th of March,

0:04:240:04:27

the 11th of March, 1938, was the day when Hitler's troops

0:04:270:04:31

marched into Vienna, just down the road from Budapest.

0:04:310:04:36

Solti wrote in his memoirs,

0:04:360:04:38

"As it turned out my conducting debut at the Budapest Opera

0:04:380:04:42

"was my last performance of an opera there.

0:04:420:04:46

"I felt all my hopes had been dashed.

0:04:460:04:49

"That evening left a permanent scar on my heart."

0:04:490:04:54

Please welcome Maestro Valery Gergiev

0:04:550:04:58

to conduct the World Orchestra For Peace

0:04:580:05:02

in Mozart's Overture to the Marriage Of Figaro.

0:05:020:05:05

APPLAUSE

0:05:050:05:08

APPLAUSE

0:09:410:09:43

Mozart's sparkling Overture to the Marriage Of Figaro.

0:09:450:09:48

The World Orchestra For Peace conducted by Valery Gergiev.

0:09:480:09:52

Now, here is Valerie Solti to pick up the narrative

0:09:550:09:57

of tonight's musical journey through Solti's life.

0:09:570:10:01

Solti spent the Second World War as a refugee in Switzerland.

0:10:020:10:07

He had no opportunity to work,

0:10:070:10:10

he was only allowed to give three piano lessons a week.

0:10:100:10:14

After the war ended,

0:10:150:10:17

he became the music director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich -

0:10:170:10:23

a contentious move at the time for a Jew.

0:10:230:10:25

But he was starved for work.

0:10:260:10:29

And he wrote, "The desire to conduct was an irresistible force in me,

0:10:290:10:36

"for more than eight years my music-making

0:10:360:10:39

"had been confined to the piano,

0:10:390:10:41

"the prime of my life had been wasted."

0:10:410:10:44

"Despite the horrors that had been perpetrated,

0:10:450:10:48

"reflection could alter nothing.

0:10:480:10:51

"We had to look forwards and make a new Europe."

0:10:510:10:55

Whilst in Munich he met some of the greatest musicians

0:10:550:10:59

and composers of the 20th century,

0:10:590:11:01

including Richard Strauss.

0:11:010:11:04

Here is Strauss' youthful and passionate tone poem, Don Juan.

0:11:040:11:10

APPLAUSE

0:29:050:29:08

Valery Gergiev and the World Orchestra For Peace

0:29:110:29:13

capturing the doomed energy of Strauss' hero

0:29:130:29:16

in the tone poem Don Juan, which was a favourite of Solti's,

0:29:160:29:20

requiring all the passion, precision and virtuosity

0:29:200:29:24

which were his trademarks.

0:29:240:29:26

One of the unique characteristics of the World Orchestra For Peace

0:29:270:29:30

is the way in which players rotate between works.

0:29:300:29:34

So during the course of a single concert,

0:29:340:29:37

several players will take turns to lead or to play solo parts.

0:29:370:29:41

For 25 years from 1946 until 1971,

0:29:510:29:56

Solti's principal focus was on opera.

0:29:560:30:01

He was music director of three great European opera houses -

0:30:010:30:04

Munich, Frankfurt and London's Covent Garden.

0:30:040:30:08

Not only did he give memorable performances,

0:30:080:30:12

but he also helped develop the careers

0:30:120:30:14

of some of the greatest singers in the world.

0:30:140:30:17

And we're now going to hear from four of them

0:30:170:30:19

who received early encouragement from Solti.

0:30:190:30:23

Two unfortunately can't be with us in person today -

0:30:230:30:26

Placido Domingo and Renee Fleming -

0:30:260:30:29

but there are two who are here - Rene Pape and Angela Gheorghiu.

0:30:290:30:35

Ladies and gentlemen, I know that everyone is celebrating

0:30:360:30:40

the 100th anniversary of the birth of Maestro Georg Solti.

0:30:400:30:45

And, um, what a great day, you know?

0:30:450:30:48

How many memories, how much music we did together...

0:30:490:30:53

I am really, really sorry

0:30:530:30:55

not to be able to with everybody celebrating him,

0:30:550:30:58

but we all celebrate the great musician and the great, great friend

0:30:580:31:04

and...remember him as one of the greatest.

0:31:040:31:10

For those who had the chance and who were lucky to meet him,

0:31:100:31:16

even to make music with him, to work with him,

0:31:160:31:19

of course he will never go,

0:31:190:31:22

you will always carry these kinds of people in your mind

0:31:220:31:27

and in your heart.

0:31:270:31:28

I would certainly thank him for the influence he had on me,

0:31:280:31:31

the experiences I had and the care,

0:31:310:31:35

that was a real boost.

0:31:350:31:37

When Solti unexpectedly passed, I was still really starting out,

0:31:370:31:41

so in a way I lost the opportunity to have more experience with him.

0:31:410:31:47

So it was a big disappointment for me and a loss for everybody

0:31:470:31:50

cos he just had that charisma and energy

0:31:500:31:52

that one thought, "Oh, this is going to go on for ever."

0:31:520:31:56

We all hope that Georg Solti can hear or feel

0:31:560:32:02

what we feel.

0:32:020:32:04

We all have wonderful memories

0:32:040:32:07

and we admire and we love Georg Solti.

0:32:070:32:11

And...hope that his spirit is with us today.

0:32:110:32:18

He was one of the most important people in my life -

0:32:180:32:23

artistic and also personal life.

0:32:230:32:26

Georg, I...

0:32:260:32:28

admire you, I love you

0:32:280:32:31

and I hope, um, we can see each other later.

0:32:310:32:38

For sure.

0:32:380:32:40

And we can make our big concert all together

0:32:400:32:44

somewhere in our spirit. APPLAUSE

0:32:440:32:47

Angela Gheorghiu's tribute to Solti.

0:32:470:32:49

We'll be hearing her in a few minutes.

0:32:490:32:51

But first, here is Rene Pape to sing an aria from the opera

0:32:510:32:55

in which he made his debut with Solti at the Salzburg Festival in 1991.

0:32:550:33:00

Sarastro's aria In Diesen Heil'gen Hallen

0:33:000:33:03

from Mozart's The Magic Flute.

0:33:030:33:06

REPEATS

0:34:080:34:11

REPEATS

0:34:260:34:30

REPEATS

0:36:010:36:04

REPEATS

0:36:200:36:23

APPLAUSE

0:37:090:37:11

Rene Pape - majestic and sonorous as the high priest Sarastro

0:37:130:37:18

in that aria from The Magic Flute by Mozart.

0:37:180:37:21

Next - Angela Gheorghiu is going to sing Verdi.

0:37:210:37:25

Her 1994 performance as Violetta in La Traviata by Verdi

0:37:250:37:29

at the Royal Opera House catapulted this young Romanian soprano

0:37:290:37:33

to international stardom.

0:37:330:37:35

In Chicago, she is going to sing the dying Violetta's final aria -

0:37:350:37:39

Addio Del Passato.

0:37:390:37:41

The scene begins with Violetta reading a letter

0:37:410:37:43

from Georgio Gormont, her estranged lover's father.

0:37:430:37:47

# Conforto!

0:41:060:41:10

# Sostegno!

0:41:140:41:21

# Ooh!

0:41:570:42:01

# Ah, tutto

0:42:130:42:16

# Tutto

0:42:160:42:19

# Tutto fini! #

0:42:190:42:32

MUSIC ENDS

0:42:430:42:46

APPLAUSE

0:42:460:42:51

Angela Gheorghiu as the tragic heroine, Violetta,

0:42:550:42:58

in that aria from Verdi's La Traviata.

0:42:580:43:01

APPLAUSE CONTINUES

0:43:010:43:03

Next, Angela's going to be joined by Rene Pape for more music by Mozart.

0:43:100:43:16

We've already heard an orchestral portrait of the great seducer Don Juan.

0:43:160:43:20

Now hear his music from Mozart's earlier take on that classic story.

0:43:200:43:25

Don Giovanni, the famous duet, "La ci darem la mano" in which Giovanni wins the heart

0:43:250:43:30

of the peasant girl Zerlina immediately after her wedding.

0:43:300:43:34

MUSIC STARTS

0:43:370:43:40

# La ci darem la mano

0:45:030:45:08

# Vorrei e non vorrei

0:45:080:45:15

# La mi dirai di si

0:45:150:45:20

# Mi trema un poco il cor

0:45:200:45:24

# Partiam, ben mio, da qui

0:45:240:45:26

# Ma puo burlarmi ancor

0:45:260:45:32

-# Vieni, mio bel diletto!

-Mi fa pieta Masetto

0:45:320:45:37

-# Io cangiero tua sorte

-Presto... non son piu forte

0:45:370:45:42

# Non son piu forte Non son piu forte

0:45:420:45:49

# Andiam!

0:45:490:45:52

# Andiam!

0:45:520:45:54

# Andiam!

0:45:540:46:03

-BOTH:

-# Andiam, andiam, mio bene

0:46:170:46:21

# A ristorar le pene

0:46:210:46:24

# D'un innocente amor

0:46:240:46:30

# Andiam!

0:46:300:46:33

# Andiam!

0:46:340:46:36

# Andiam!

0:46:370:46:40

# Andiam!

0:46:400:46:43

# Andiam, mio bene, andiam

0:46:430:46:46

# Le pene a ristorar

0:46:460:46:50

# D'un innocente amor. #

0:46:500:46:54

GENTLE LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE

0:47:010:47:04

Two great singers enjoying themselves in music by Mozart.

0:47:140:47:18

Angela Gheroghiu was Zerlina.

0:47:180:47:20

Rene Pape as Don Giovanni in the duet "La ci darem la mano".

0:47:200:47:25

Now here is Valerie Solti, once again, to introduce

0:47:260:47:29

some young artists in the early stages of their international careers.

0:47:290:47:33

APPLAUSE

0:47:330:47:35

My husband never forgot how he'd been helped by others

0:47:350:47:37

at crucial times in his career.

0:47:370:47:40

He loved young musicians

0:47:400:47:42

and he was always very sensitive to their needs and he also handed

0:47:420:47:46

onto them his famous motto, his own motto, "Never give up."

0:47:460:47:51

He set up the Solti Foundation

0:47:530:47:55

to assist young professional musicians at the start of their career.

0:47:550:48:00

Musicians from all over the world.

0:48:000:48:02

There is a Masterclass in Italy -

0:48:020:48:06

the Georg Solti Accademia di Bel Canto.

0:48:060:48:11

And four of the singers are here to sing for us

0:48:110:48:16

the quartet from Verdi's Rigoletto.

0:48:160:48:19

And they will be conducted by Cristian Macelaru

0:48:190:48:22

who is this year's recipient

0:48:220:48:25

of the Solti Foundation US Young Conductor's Award.

0:48:250:48:30

APPLAUSE

0:48:300:48:33

REPEATS

0:49:200:49:23

REPEATING

0:51:200:51:24

REPEATING

0:51:390:51:42

APPLAUSE

0:53:110:53:14

The quartet from Rigoletto featuring

0:53:160:53:18

Matilda Paulsson as Maddalena, Roberto Otiz as the Duke of Mantua.

0:53:180:53:23

Theresa Gevorgyan as his daughter Gilda

0:53:230:53:25

and Ross Ramgobin as Rigoletto.

0:53:250:53:28

The conductor was Cristian Macelaru.

0:53:280:53:31

APPLAUSE CONTINUES

0:53:310:53:32

Now Valery Gergiev is going to return to the podium

0:53:380:53:41

to conduct music by Mahler.

0:53:410:53:42

Mahler was central to Solti's repertoire.

0:53:420:53:45

He felt a strong connection with this music,

0:53:450:53:48

born in the melting pot of Central Europe, where he had his own roots.

0:53:480:53:52

The drama stark contrasts the Jewish melancholy

0:53:520:53:56

and profound feeling of Mahler's music drew the very best from Solti.

0:53:560:54:01

And his recordings of Mahler symphonies -

0:54:010:54:03

many made in this very hall in Chicago - still rank among the best.

0:54:030:54:07

Gergiev is going to conduct

0:54:070:54:09

the heartfelt Adagietto for Strings and Harp

0:54:090:54:12

from Mahler's Fifth Symphony.

0:54:120:54:13

MUSIC STARTS

0:54:250:54:28

MUSIC ENDS

1:04:151:04:19

APPLAUSE

1:04:211:04:26

Powerful emotions and superb string playing

1:04:341:04:36

from the World Orchestra for Peace and Valery Gergiev.

1:04:361:04:39

A fitting Mahlerian memorial to George Solti,

1:04:391:04:42

the Adagietto from Gustav Mahler's Fifth Symphony.

1:04:421:04:46

APPLAUSE CONTINUES

1:04:461:04:49

Now we're approaching the climax of

1:04:511:04:53

the centenary concert for Georg Solti in Orchestra Hall, Chicago.

1:04:531:04:57

Here, once again, is Valerie Solti, the conductor's widow.

1:04:571:05:01

To conclude the concert,

1:05:031:05:05

a masterpiece by Solti's lifelong hero, Bela Bartok.

1:05:051:05:09

He admired him, not only as a genius of composition,

1:05:091:05:14

but also as a human being for his integrity.

1:05:141:05:17

Bartok's major orchestral work, which was composed

1:05:171:05:21

here in the United States, is the Concerto for Orchestra

1:05:211:05:24

which he wrote here in self-imposed exile

1:05:241:05:27

as a protest against the fascist regime in Hungary.

1:05:271:05:31

In a moment, it will be performed

1:05:331:05:36

by Valery Gergiev and the World Orchestra for Peace,

1:05:361:05:38

whose members come from 60 world orchestras.

1:05:381:05:44

APPLAUSE

1:05:441:05:45

The Herculean task of assembling this extraordinary ensemble

1:05:521:05:57

has been undertaken from the beginning

1:05:571:05:59

by Solti's former assistant Charles Kaye.

1:05:591:06:03

Before we hear the Concerto for Orchestra and hear the virtuosity

1:06:031:06:08

of these players, we're going to hear from four great musicians,

1:06:081:06:14

all of whom were close friends and colleagues of my husband.

1:06:141:06:18

What remains really in the forefront of my memory of Sir Georg

1:06:211:06:27

is his relentless energy and finding new talents,

1:06:271:06:33

in shaping the orchestra and enthusing us with the passion.

1:06:331:06:37

He just had this inner fire

1:06:371:06:39

and that is a great quality in a musician, to keep that fire burning.

1:06:391:06:43

And even, you know, his death was kind of typical for him -

1:06:431:06:47

very sudden and very kind of unfussy, unexpected.

1:06:471:06:51

And much of what he has done as a musician really stems from his burning intensity which you can hear

1:06:511:07:01

even in recordings, you know, 50-60 years old.

1:07:011:07:04

I find that an outstanding quality in him.

1:07:041:07:06

I mean, he was really one of the very few

1:07:061:07:09

great conductors of the last century.

1:07:091:07:12

Sir Georg just allowed us to know what live music is all about

1:07:121:07:18

and, er, you know,

1:07:181:07:20

the fact that you have this physical presence,

1:07:201:07:24

you have this incredible feeling of having this personal journey

1:07:241:07:29

with a piece of music, and that journey was always going to continue.

1:07:291:07:33

So even after our concerts, we always felt that, now,

1:07:331:07:37

this is going to elevate us to something else,

1:07:371:07:41

or to another question with the piece of music, you know?

1:07:411:07:45

And I just feel very thankful that he was able to inject

1:07:451:07:50

the real meaning of live music.

1:07:501:07:53

We both come from Hungary and both are Jewish

1:07:531:07:58

and both settled somewhere else.

1:07:581:08:02

I think very often of him and very, very lovingly.

1:08:031:08:09

He was very charismatic, quite irresistible,

1:08:091:08:16

and full of relentless energy. He worked very hard.

1:08:161:08:22

He was incredibly active, almost overactive!

1:08:221:08:26

So I really thought that he would go on for ever.

1:08:261:08:31

I thought that this energy would take him over 100.

1:08:311:08:34

Away from conducting, away from piano-playing, as a musician,

1:08:341:08:37

I saw him once...

1:08:371:08:39

I saw him once play, from score, a Haydn - I think it was The Creation.

1:08:401:08:47

And he sang all the parts, he played it - from an orchestral score -

1:08:471:08:51

he played it as if it was a piano piece

1:08:511:08:53

and it was one of the most amazing musical experiences that I've had.

1:08:531:08:59

I miss him. I really miss him.

1:08:591:09:01

He was a wonderful musical personality who gave

1:09:011:09:04

a lot of light around, and I miss him.

1:09:041:09:08

-APPLAUSE

-The pianist Murray Perahia concluding that tribute

1:09:081:09:12

from instrumentalists who worked with Solti.

1:09:121:09:15

Now here is Valery Gergiev to conduct the World Orchestra for Peace

1:09:151:09:19

in music by Solti's great Hungarian compatriot and teacher, Bela Bartok -

1:09:191:09:24

The Concerto for Orchestra.

1:09:241:09:26

APPLAUSE

1:47:011:47:02

A terrific orchestral dash to the tape in the presto including

1:47:051:47:10

the final movement of Bella Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra.

1:47:101:47:12

Valery Gergiev from the World Orchestra For Peace in dazzling form.

1:47:121:47:20

That performance was a particularly fitting tribute to Solti,

1:47:271:47:31

not just because he studied with Bartok

1:47:311:47:35

and was a great champion of his music and this piece in particular, but because, in 1995,

1:47:351:47:40

the Concerto for Orchestra was the final work in the first concert

1:47:401:47:43

given by the World Orchestra For Peace in Geneva and it was

1:47:431:47:47

the only time that Solti conducted the orchestra that he founded.

1:47:471:47:50

Since Solti's death, all the World Orchestra for Peace concerts

1:48:001:48:04

have been conducted by Valery Gergiev.

1:48:041:48:06

And maybe he and the orchestra have something else in store for us.

1:48:061:48:11

There's going to be an encore because it couldn't be

1:48:181:48:20

a celebratory concert without an encore

1:48:201:48:23

could it?

1:48:231:48:25

It will be Sousa's famous march - The Stars And Stripes Forever which Solti conducted on this stage

1:48:251:48:32

in January 1986 when Chicago Bears won the Superbowl.

1:48:321:48:38

APPLAUSE

1:48:381:48:41

We're thrilled cos we're being joined by this by past and present

1:48:411:48:46

principal players who Solti engaged during his tenure as music director.

1:48:461:48:51

APPLAUSE

1:52:151:52:18

The swagger and bravado of a classic Sousa march.

1:52:231:52:27

The Stars And Stripes Forever raising the roof

1:52:271:52:30

in Orchestra Hall Chicago with retired players from

1:52:301:52:33

the Chicago Symphony joining the World Orchestra For Peace in that encore.

1:52:331:52:36

As all the artists come back on stage to take a final bow,

1:52:381:52:41

and salute the memory of the great Sir Georg Solti,

1:52:411:52:44

we take our leave of Orchestra Hall.

1:52:441:52:48

Solti loved birthdays and the atmosphere of this 100th birthday celebration in Chicago

1:52:481:52:53

has been very special.

1:52:531:52:56

From all of us, goodbye.

1:52:561:52:58

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

1:53:181:53:22

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS