Herbert Blomstedt conducts Schubert and Beethoven
Herbert Blomstedt’s guiding principle is “to conduct fewer works, but to work on them thoroughly”. This invariably makes his interpretations events. Blomstedt is one of the long-standing artistic friends of the Berliner Philharmoniker. He conducts Franz Schubert here for the first time, however. In addition to Schubert’s Third Symphony, Beethoven’s Seventh is also on the programme. What unites the two works? Their infectiously optimistic spirit.
“Being a conductor is a good profession to grow old in, because it’s always a challenge – and you need challenges when you get older.” So says Herbert Blomstedt, born in 1927, who here continues his long-standing collaboration with the Berliner Philharmoniker with unbridled energy and vitality.
Blomstedt’s benchmark performances combine analytical precision with an intimacy that brings the music to pulsating life. The Swedish-American maestro works through each score in detail anew before a performance, even though he has conducted it many times for delighted audiences: a learner, even at 95 years of age. “I make a lot of notes, because I study the scores very carefully, so that every note has its particular meaning.” Humility and modesty characterise how he presents himself – Blomstedt rejects the common clichés associated with the conducting profession in many respects.
There is also a premiere in this concert, as Blomstedt conducts one of Franz Schubert’s symphonies with the orchestra for the first time: the Third, with perhaps the most sparkling finale of all Schubert symphonies – in the buoyant, buffo tone of a Rossini overture. The evening also continues exuberantly with Beethoven’s rousing Seventh Symphony, which ends with a finale full of effervescent energy.
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