CLASSICAL SOURCE
Ilan Volkov and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra here gave an account of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony that was refreshing for its directness and lack of affectation. The first movement was forward-moving and cohesive, its interior elements beautifully delineated. The gutsy symphonic argument was projected with unusual clarity, and when a mood of serenity takes over towards the close there was some remarkably fine playing from horn and woodwinds.
For more than sixty years, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has enjoyed a warm relationship with American audiences, building a loyal and enthusiastic following during its regular coast-to-coast tours. To celebrate such an international bond, and to mark the beginning of the Orchestra’s sixteen-date USA tour in its 70th year, members of the RPO were thrilled to welcome American Friends of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (AFRPO) to its launch event held at the New York Yacht Club.
In 2016, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is proud to be celebrating 70 years at the forefront of music-making. Unique within the UK and the international orchestral scene, the RPO embraces and thrives under a modern and versatile approach, which, over the past decade, has seen the Orchestra extend its reach to fourteen UK residencies; performing more concerts and to a wider breadth of audiences than any other orchestra in the country.
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Ah, Mozart. You don’t hear major orchestras performing it on tour that much these days, let alone an entire concert of it with the final spot, usually reserved for heaven-storming, standing-ovation-producing apotheoses, dedicated to one of the master’s symphonies. But here they were Wednesday night in Segerstrom Concert Hall in a performance for the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, violinist/conductor Pinchas Zukerman and the London-based Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, founded by Thomas Beecham in 1946, playing Mozart and nothing but, and the famous stuff to boot.
