Orchestra cancels Overture on Hebrew Themes
OrchestrasSlippediscers in the Netherlands have spotted that the Rotterdam Philharmonic has replaced Prokofiev’s popular opener in this week’s concerts with Lili Boulanger’s ‘D’un soir triste’. The programme is being played both at home and across the border in Dortmund. The conductor responsible is Lahav Shani, who is also music director of the Israel Philharmonic.
Was the work considered too ‘insensitive’ for these inflammatory times?
UPDATE: Sources in the orchestra tell us: ‘We are playing Boulanger’s piece at the Proms this summer and this is the only opportunity we can play it at concert before… We considered adding it in addition to Jewish themes ouverture but then it would become too long.’
More likely they realised, belatedly, that they needed to make up their season quota of non-male composers. That’s the main reason why that particular Boulanger piece (being short, sweet and copyright free) tends to get programmed.
Maybe they got spooked.
The Prokofiev is an ok piece, not one of his best but it’s better than the awful and over hyped Boulanger, she should never have bothered.
Concert openers.. how’s about Mozart – The Magic Flute, or Wagner Meistersingers, or Tchaikovsky Romeo or Smetana The Battered Bride, as I like to call it.
The other pieces on the program are Prokofiev 3rd Piano Concerto, conducted from the keyboard, and Don Quixote. The Boulanger fits well.
Boulanger is fantastic….The rest you mentioned….overhyped and overplayed.
The level of triviality within classical music’s self-apponted political illuminati is quite extraordinary these days.
The LSO played this on its last German tour.
Probably, yes.
Wouldn’t it be a good idea to ask the orchestra itself and report here, rather than opening it to speculation?
If Norman did that, he may not have a column to write.
Islamic fundamentalists have killed people for over a thousand years what do his woke theories say about that
Religions didn‘t kill most people. Colonialism did, under the flag of any religion. Until today. Also you omit the fact, the in the current conflicts Israel is involved, Israel killed more than ten times the number of people, than others killed them. Fact.
The real colonialism are the Muslims! They came to the British Palestina from all around, seeking better and higher standards of lives, Jews and Christians were there centuries before them. Exactly as the Muslims do now in Europe. FACT.
I wonder why you choose this specific platform to express your views and assertions on warfare.
Also, I wonder what is the reliable source of genuine information upon which your comment is based, and what truly stands for what you chose to name “Fact”.
I am sure that in the spirit of truthful reporting you have reached out to them for an explanation.
Does this mean no more music from Fiddler on the Roof and Schindler’s List?
My first two guesses would be that it’s either a conductor preference or a logistical/personnel choice. Musicians are always re-configuring between pieces, but I note that Prokofiev’s orchestral arrangement of Overture on Hebrew Themes includes piano and scored like a Classical orchestra (2.2.2.2-2.2.0.0-perc:BD-pft-strings).
The Boulanger instrumentation doesn’t call for piano and is for full orchestra (2.3.3.3-4.3.3.1-timb.-2 perc.-cél.-hpe-cordes), closer to the Prokofiev 3rd concerto that follows it: (2[II=picc].2.2.2-4.2.3.0-timp.perc:cyms/cast/BD/tamb-strings).
If Rotterdam uses the same concert grand for instrumental works as for concertos, maybe they don’t want the audience to see it moved from the rear of the stage to front and center?
If I think I’ve understood the reason behind the change, I’m shocked and I feel very offended. Dr Joseph Goebbels also ruled out all Jewish composers plus music based on a
The pretext of needing to rehearse for the Proms and then running out of time is ludicrous. Surely they knew quite in advance about both events. It is all too transparent that ” Jewish” had something to do with it in these chaotic, demented times of moral idiocy. What I wonder is if Lahav Shani had anything to do with the offensive decision.
I think you should spend less time wondering. Lahav Shani was one of the signatories to the letter against the Concertgebouw’s Jerusalem Quartet decision, there’s no way that Rotterdam would do this for a political reason.
She was an exceptionally talented composer who tragically, had a very short life. We can only speculate about what would have come if her time was cut short. The same can be said about Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and others.