'Spirit of the North' The EUYO’s 2017 Summer Tour celebrates the music and culture of the EU's Baltic and Nordic states
- Music from the EU's six most northerly countries - Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden - and also their neighbours Norway and Russia
- EUYO Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko and soloists Baiba Skride and Christian Lindberg
- A celebration of Estonia's EU Presidency as part of the Capital Sounds tour of the Baltic states
- 4th edition of the European Music Campus in partnership with Grafenegg Festival
- Bolzano Festival Bozenresidency
- Formal and informal performances for wide-ranging and diverse audiences
- Innovative performance formats and a chamber programme devoted to women composers
- Digital and entrepreneurship training sessions for EUYO players
- 115 of Europe’s finest young classical musicians from all 28 EU countries
- 14 expert international tutors and teachers with a breadth of experience in the music industry
- 10 EUYO Alumni teachers at Sistema Europe's Athens 2017 Residency
At the heart of the EUYO’s 2017 summer tour programme is Jean Sibelius’s first symphony. Premiered in its revised version in Berlin on 18 July 1900, the work embodies a new focus on interior, introspective symphonic sound. The influence of this approach to composition runs through much of the EUYO's summer programme, particularly in works by Arvo Pärt, Pēteris Vasks and Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. Complementing these composers, the EUYO's 2017 Summer Tour also includes folk and contemporary influences with music by Hugo Alfven, Christian Lindberg, Artrus Maskats, Carl Nielsen and Kaija Saariaho, in an extensive selection of compositions from the North of Europe.
EUYO’s Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko leads six major concerts in performances of the Sibelius Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s dramatic Symphony No.4. The Orchestra is also joined by renowned Latvian violinist Baiba Skride, performing Arvo Pärt’s Fratres and Vasks’s Lonely Angel, and award-winning Swedish trombonist Christian Lindberg who performs his latest concerto for Trombone, Golden Eagle.
115 musicians convene at Grafenegg for a three week residency at the Orchestra’s Summer Home and Principal Venue Partner – Grafenegg Festival. 2017 celebrates the 4th edition of the European Music Campus, a project jointly curated by Grafenegg and the EUYO. Free open Rehearsals, Chamber Music, Late Night Sessions, Musiclabs, and new format concerts in Grafenegg's castle and the museums of Vienna provide an opportunity for diverse audiences and visitors to experience the EUYO in many different guises. Programmes include the Orchestra's first entire programme of women composers with the chamber music trail 'women across 3 centuries' in Grafenegg and Bolzano with works by Dame Ethyl Smyth, Helen Grime, Fanny Mendelssohn and Kaija Saariaho.
Public speaker, writer, business and social change expert William Norris presents a music lab on the importance of Digital Skills for musicians when planning their career path. And trainer, facilitator and coach Pat O’Toole runs a two- day series of practical workshops to help young musicians learn how to communicate and present their ideas with confidence and impact. Vasily Petrenko and the EUYO’s Finnish players are joined by writer and broadcaster Stephen Johnson to explore the music of Sibelius and the EU's Nordic and Baltic countries. The European Music Campus is supported by 12 eminent tutors with experience of leading world class orchestras such as The Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, London Philharmonic,London Sinfonietta,London Symphony,Oslo Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra.
2017 sees the continuation of Capital Sounds, a multi-year project to perform in all 28 EU member states in performances celebrating the countries and cultural diversity of Europe. This summer the Orchestra will perform in the EU’s Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in concerts with local musicians such as Baiba Skride, Daniila Bulajev and The Bazaras brothers, alongside guest speakers including the Estonian Minister of Culture, Mr Indrek Saar, the Latvian Minister of Culture, Ms Dace Melbārde and the Lithuanian Minister of Culture Mrs Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson. The Project coincides and celebrates Estonia’s EU Presidency. For the last week of the summer tour, the EUYO travels to Bolzano, Italy, to rehearse and perform formal and informal concerts in collaboration with the city of Bolzano and Bolzano Festival Bozen, continuing a collaboration begun decades ago by the EUYO's founding and first musical director, the late Claudio Abbado.
"As the EUYO enters its 5th decade, the Orchestra is vigorously continuing its role as Cultural Ambassador for the EU. With the Capital Sounds project in the Baltic states, the Spirit of the North celebrations throughout the summer, and the recent OBE award granted to the EUYO’s President and Co-Founder Joy Bryer in recognition of her unstinting work for Europe's young musicians, the EUYO's 2017 Summer Tour is a reaffirmation of the Orchestra as a beacon for the EU’s highest ideals during challenging times for Europe"
Marshall Marcus, CEO, European Union Youth Orchestra
Detailed Programme
European Music Campus performances, Grafenegg:
Music Lab 1: Friday 28 July, 19:00 – 21:00 Reitschule
Line up your CareerPath
Attendees will be able to choose between music labs on Digital Skills for musicians, The Musician Entrepreneur, and Music for Social Change options. With William Norris and business and social change experts.
Open Rehearsal, Saturday 29 July, 11:40–13:00 Auditorium Concert Hall
Peter Stark, Conductor
Rehearsal open to members of the public as the EUYO prepares repertoire for its 2017 Summer Tour.
Music Lab 2: Thursday 3 and Friday 4 August Reitschule
Make Yourself Presentable
A practical workshop taking place over two days to help musicians communicate and present their ideas with confidence and impact. With Pat O’Toole, Trainer, Facilitator and Coach.
Schloss Grafenegg Music Gallery Saturday 5 August 13.00- 16:30
Visitors wander through Schloss Grafenegg as musicians from EUYO perform themes by composers which hail from various eras of classical music, with four different music trails on offer.
Vienna MuseumsQuartier Chamber Music Close- Up, Sunday 6 August, 16:00 - 17:00
Close up chamber music in selected rooms of the Leopold Museum, Mumok & Kunsthalle Wien.
Vienna MuseumsQuartier Close Up Concert Sunday 6 August
An informal concert giving audience members the opportunity to experience a symphony orchestra close up, with seats around and also inside the Orchestra.
Music Lab 3: Tuesday 8 August, 20:00–22:00 Reitschule, Grafenegg
Sibelius and the Spirit of the North
Exploring the music of the Nordic countries with Stephen Johnson, Vasily Petrenko and three of the EUYO’s Nordic players; Ella Kiiski, Elias Lassfolk and Iikka Järvi.
Grafenegg Schlosshof Prelude Concert Saturday 12 August 17.30
Schlosshof
Pre Concert talk, Saturday 12 August, 19:00 Reitschule
Gustav Danzinger
Grafenegg Wolkenturm Concert Saturday 12 August 20.00
Vasily Petrenko, Conductor Baiba Skride, Violin
Grafenegg Reitschule Late Night Session Saturday 12 August 22.30
Informal music and conversation with the players of the EUYO and guests
Pärnu Kontserdimaja, Pärnu Festival Monday 14 August 20:00
Vasily Petrenko, Conductor Emily Davis, Violin
Christian Lindberg, Trombone
Capital Sounds project with key-note speech delivered by Mr. Indrek Saar, Estonian Minister of Culture
Liepāja Great Amber Concert Hall, Tuesday 15 August 19:00
Vasily Petrenko, Conductor Baiba Skride, Violin
Capital Sounds project with key-note speech delivered by Ms Dace Melbārde, Latvian Minister of Culture
Kaunas Philharmonic Hall, Pažaislis Music Festival, Wednesday 16 August 18:00 Vasily Petrenko, Conductor
Christian Lindberg, Trombone
Capital Sounds project with key-note speech delivered by Mrs Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson, Lithuanian Minister of Culture
Bolzano Teatro Comunale Stadttheater, Bolzano Festival Bozen 18 August at 20.30
Vasily Petrenko, Conductor Baiba Skride, Violin
Bolzano Teatro Comunale Stadttheater, Bolzano Festival Bozen 20 August at 20.30
Vasily Petrenko, Conductor Christian Lindberg, Trombone
Spazio Klassik, 21 August at 10.30 Piazza Montessori
Spazio Klassik, 21 August at 17:00 Piazza Matteotti
ParkHotel Laurin, Concert 21 August at 21.00
Spazio Klassik, 22 August at 11:00 Piazza Walther
Bolzano Festival Bozen Close Up Concert, 22 August at 18:00
Piazza Walther
Chloe van Soeterstede, Conductor
An informal concert giving audience members the opportunity to experience a symphony orchestra close up, with seats around and also inside the Orchestra
REPERTOIRE & ORCHESTRATION
ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
Sibelius Symphony no.1 in e min op.39
Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 4 in f minor op.36
Nielsen Masquerade overture
Lindberg Trombone concerto GoldenEagle
Arvo Pärt Fratres for solo violin, strings & percussion
Alfvén Festmusik op.25
Alfvén Finale, from ProdigalSon
Alfvén Dance of the Shepherd Girl Op.37aNo.4
Čiurlionis Miske 'In theForest'
Vasks Vientulais 'Lonely Angel', solo violin &strings
CHAMBER MUSIC
Arvo Pärt Fratres: version for 'cello andharp
Kaija Saariaho Terrestre: flute, percussion, harp, violin and'cello
Arturs Maskats Midnight inRiga
Franz Schubert 16 German DancesD.783
Joseph Lanner Dances: Bruder Galoppe, Hans Jorgel - Polka & Steyrische Tanze Op.165
Bela Bartok Romanian folk dances for strings
Fanny Mendelssohn String quartet in E♭ major (1834) movement 3+4
Dame Ethyl Smyth String quartet in E minor, third movement:Andante
Helen Grime To See the Summer Sky - violin and viola
J.S.Bach ‘Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor BWV 1008
J.S.Bach Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor BWV 1004
Aaron Copland Fanfare for the CommonMan
Claudio Monteverdi Vespers: Deus in Adjutorium (arr. GrahamDixon)
Edward Grieg Holberg Suite 1st movement / String Quartet 1st movement
Tizol/Ellington Caravan (arr. Richard Bissil)
Viola Quartet Besame Mucho and Hora Martisorului
Giuseppe Verdi Overture to Nabucco arr. brass ensemble
Mateja Marinkovic Nisamski Rastanak and Jovano Jovanke
Anon Carnival in Venice for brass ensemble (arr. Elgar Howarth)
Pēteris Vasks String Quartet no. 4, meditation movement
Nicolo Paganini Caprice no 24 arr. for string quartet
Jean Sibelius Andante Festivo
Jean Sibelius Voces Intimae Op 56
Zoltan Kodaly Zehn Trios
P.I.Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence, first movement
Peter Gane Victor’s Warm Up Routine
Eino Tambert Woodwind Quintet
UntoMononen/VeikkoAhvenainen/ Memories from the City of Turku (Muistoja Turusta) (arr.PeterGrans)UskoKemppi
TeppoHauta-Aho Kadenza
Purcell Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary
Anon Romanian folk music
All press requests should be addressed to Rebecca Humphrey rebecca@euyo.eu +447866 888917