Harmonious to the core

The Western classical music-lovers in the City were in for a treat during the weekend as the ‘Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra’ performed at the Chowdiah Memorial Hall.

Sponsored by Bosch, the concert took place as part of the ‘Germany and India 2011-2012: Infinite Opportunities’.

Founded in 1945, the ‘Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra’ has been at the top of the international orchestral scene for more than 65 years. As the world’s oldest professional chamber orchestra, its first concert in India was in the year 1956. This India tour is the orchestra’s fourth one, the third being in 2010.

The session began with the compositions of Arcangelo Corelli. This ‘Concerto grosso in G minor Op 6 No 8 The Christmas Concerto’ was followed by Antonio Vivaldi’s ‘Concerto for 2 Violoncellos and Strings in G minor RV 531’ consisting of ‘Allegro’, ‘Largo’ and ‘Allegro’.

Up next was a rendition of ‘Concerto for 3 Violins BWV 1064R in D major’, composed by J S Bach, which consisted of ‘Allegro’, ‘Adagio’ and ‘Allegro’.

Venkatraman, a property developer who was a member of the audience, was highly impressed by the orchestra’s rendition of Vivaldi.

“It’s a great opportunity to see them perform live. My favourite part of the show was their rendition of a tune by Vivaldi,” he said.

After a short intermission, the orchestra was joined by several talented Indian musicians from the ‘Symphony Orchestra of India’.

Together, the musicians from India and Germany performed Mozart’s ‘Serenade in G major KV 525 ‘Eine kleine Nachtmusik’’ with ‘Allegro’, ‘Romance: Andante’, ‘Menuetto’ and ‘Rondo: Allegro’.

They then mesmerised everyone with their rendition of Edvard Grieg’s ‘Suite in the old style in G major Op 40 ‘From Holberg’s Time’’.  This was closing piece for the evening.

The audience thoroughly enjoyed the show as the musicians took them on a trip down memory lane.

Rebecca, a piano teacher and a music therapist, totally loved the concert. “Very rarely, do you get good to see quality chamber music in India. It was simply an awesome performance,” she said.

“My favourite part of the evening was when the musicians from the ‘Symphony Orchestra of India’ joined the ‘Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra’. To have our Indian musicians playing with the world’s oldest orchestra was quite a matter of pride. Two of my favourites were their renditions of Bach and Corelli,” she added.