Throwback // COE and Sir Simon Rattle

The encounters between Sir Simon Rattle and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe have always taken place under special omens: Das Debütprojekt im Oktober 2021 war für das Orchester das erste seit Beginn der Corona-Pandemie, im Mai und Juni 2022 überschattete der Krieg in der Ukraine eine weitere Konzerttournee. With Strauss’ Metamorphosen and Mahler’s Lied von der Erde, works were now on the programme that demanded a great deal of emotional effort from all those involved.

The concerts at the Dresden Music Festival (31 May 2022), the Philharmonie Luxembourg (01 June 2022), the Cologne Philharmonie (03 June 2022), the Musikverein Vienna (05 June 2022) and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg (07 June 2022) were a complete success with jubilant reviews in the press and standing ovations from the audience. Sir Simon Rattle’s enthusiastic exclamation “I’ve been falling in love with this orchestra!” gives reason to hope for a continuation of this relationship, which was formed under not entirely easy conditions!

R. Strauss: Metamorphosen TrV 290
G. Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

Magdalena Kožená, mezzosopran Andrew Staples, tenor Sir Simon Rattle: conductor Some excerpts from the press

“On Tuesday, this Gustav Mahler could be heard at the same venue as part of the music festival. Better: to suffer through. For Sir Simon Rattle and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe celebrated the farewell of a painter of tonal colours whom one can hardly get tired of hearing.”
(Sächsische Zeitung, 02 June 2022)
“The Chamber Orchestra of Europe has previously also been able to score multi-layered points in the realm of pure melancholy.”
(Der Standard, 08 June 2022)
“The visitors in the Kulturpalast listened as if hypnotised; after Sir Simon lowered the baton in each case, long breathless silence followed in the hall, filled with so many thoughts and feelings, and finally endless cheers.”
(Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten, 02 June 2022)