Unique: For an encore, this new music director sings a little song

Unique: For an encore, this new music director sings a little song

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norman lebrecht

May 10, 2017

François-Xavier Roth is relatively new at the Gürzenich orchestra in Cologine, still feeling his way with the audience.

So, at the end of the concert, he gave a little chat in German and English on recent results – football and the French election. Then he went into cabaret mode, singing Charles Trenet’s classic La Mer, with orchestral accompaniment.

Not many music directors get this volume of applause.

Now test it against the great original:

Comments

  • Lawrence Kershaw says:

    LOVE this! Bravo and Bravi!

  • Meal says:

    Been there :)) It was a great moment. It perfectly fitted to the whole concert and its atmosphere. FXR had the right feeling with the audience just from his first concert as Kapellmeister on. When he conducts he knows what he wants – and gets it from the orchestra.

  • Patrick Hahn says:

    Thanks for the post! Apologies, we have had to down the livestream for technical reasons! Stay tuned for the new links soon and enjoy meanwhile our orchestra in our GO Plus Streaming section, e.g. with a great all-saint-saëns-program! http://www.guerzenich-orchester.de/go-plus-sinfoniekonzert04

  • The View from America says:

    One word: Delightful.

  • jonathan dunsby says:

    INteresting that Sarah Willis (horn player in Berlin Phil) was presenting. Maybe she’s moving to a new career

  • Eric says:

    Ahem, the Budapest Festival Orchestra regularly do encores on tour, and when they do, they often do it where a collection of the singers (and Maestro Ivan Fischer) sing. This kind of alternative approach, from both this maestro and BFO, usually charm audiences. It’s very welcome.

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