30 LSO Season 09/10
Destination LSO
The LSO takes music all over the world with a comprehensive
touring schedule. Here we take you around the globe with
the Orchestra to just some of our touring destinations
for the 2009/10 season. LSO Principal Flute Gareth Davies
shares his tales of touring.
Austria
Grafenegg, Sir Colin Davis conducts Sibelius and Nielsen
Without question, one of the highlights of my time in the LSO has
been playing Sibelius with Sir Colin. Whenever we play one of
the symphonies, he gives space where we need it and pushes
us forward at just the right time which makes for an exhilarating
journey. Sir Colin is a national treasure!
France
Paris, Salle Pleyel, Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts Beethoven
Since the refurbishment, I have always looked forward to our trips
to Salle Pleyel. When we played The Rite of Spring last year, I thought
we were going to blow the roof off! The Beethoven with John
Eliot will sound fantastic. He always reveals so much detail in his
performances which everyone will hear with great clarity in the
refurbished hall.
© Alberto Venzago
LSO on tour 2009/10
Austria, China, France,
Germany, Greece,Holland,
Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal,
Republic of Ireland,
Slovenia, Spain,
Switzerland, USA.
China
I can remember the excitement of our first visit to China a few years
ago. None of us knew if we would ever get the chance to go again
and so the first day was a whistle stop tour of epic proportions.
We left at 5am from the hotel to go to the Great Wall, a lunchtime
walk round the Forbidden City, then the rehearsal and concert, a
reception afterwards and then a trip to the Irish pub to see England
get beaten in the Six Nations at 3am. Marvellous!
Daytona
I often heard talk of this trip to Daytona where the LSO did concerts
by the beach. I used to think that it was exaggerated, then I went
myself. It was better! Great weather, great people, great concerts
and the only place we go on tour where you can even get a decent
cup of tea. It’s one tour I will always want to be part of!
Italy
Gergiev conducts Dutilleux
We all know that Valery is well known for his performances of
Russian repertoire, but the surprise for me last season was just how
good he is at French repertoire. Maybe it’s those fluttering hands
that become like an impressionist’s brushes, or maybe it’s just his
unmatched musical communication.
Click here to hear more from Gareth and other LSO players on tour
and read the entertaining tour blogs.
To view a Ceros magazine you need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser and have the flash player 8 or higher installed. To install the latest flash player, click the icon above, install the flash plugin and then click here to refresh this page.