Published: 05 September 2012
Category: Tours & Projects

“…One of the most remarkable Mahler performances I've heard” 
Andrew Clements, The Guardian

“Hearing the Gewandhaus, was a privilege: no other orchestra plays Mendelssohn half as well”
Tim Ashley, The Guardian

“Taking the stage which the Berlin Philharmonic had just vacated, Riccardo Chailly and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra demonstrated a different kind of excellence: in place of the Berliners’ patina, we got an account of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony which was blazingly visceral down to its shattering final chord”
Michael Church, The Independent

“This was a pair of inspiring, enlivening concerts given by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra…. the applause and foot-stamping were ecstatic”
Geoffrey Norris, The Telegraph

This weekend saw the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig give two spectacular sell-out concerts at the BBC Proms, performances that have received critical acclaim and five-star reviews. The first concert (1 September) paid tribute to past Gewandhauskapellmeister Mendelssohn. Nicolai Znaider joined the orchestra to perform the Violin Concerto in E minor which was complemented by two concert overtures, Ruy Blas and The Fair Melusine. The concert concluded with Riccardo Chailly conducting Mendelssohn’s original version of his 'Reformation' (Fifth) Symphony.

The next evening, the Gewandhaus performed Mahler’s Sixth Symphony, following the orchestra's successful Mahler Festival in Leipzig last season. Preceding this, the orchestra and Chailly gave a performance of Messiaen’s Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum, a memorial to the dead of two world wars.

There was other good news for the Gewandhaus this week. Following the orchestra's major Beethoven Cycle tour to London, Paris and Vienna in last autumn, its Decca recordings of the Symphonies have been nominated for a Gramophone Award in the Orchestral category. The winners will be announced on 27 September at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards ceremony and online at www.gramophone.co.uk.

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