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26
JUNE
The Spirit of
Europe Orchestra is a cultural
initiative of Provincial Governor of Lower Austria, Dr.
Erwin Pröll. The Federal Province of Lower Austria is
situated at the heart of a new, united Europe. Its
original initiative for cultural integration is an
European chamber orchestra – the Spirit of Europe –
which was established in 2004 on the occasion of the
greatest-ever enlargement in the history of the European
Union. The orchestra is based in the city of Melk on the
Danube and consists of 35 musicians from a number of
European countries, chiefly Hungary, the Slovak and
Czech Republics, and Austria. The Spirit of Europe
orchestra performs mainly in the EU and at least once a
year in the countries and regions of the Near East,
particularly those of the Islamic cultural area, as part
of the Dialogue of the Cultures, event organized by the
Provincial Capital of Lower Austria. The orchestra’s
repertoire ranges from the Baroque to works of the 21st
century, newly commissioned original works being a
regular feature. The orchestra sees itself as a platform
for a link between different sectors of society –
culture, politics and economy. The project is backed by
a number of ambassadors, while international enterprises
offer the orchestra financial support as sponsors.
Chief conductor of the Spirit of Europe chamber
orchestra is
Martin Sieghart, an
artist who has had a long and successful career in this
field. For several years he directed the Vienna Symphony
Chamber Orchestra. In 1990, the world-famous Stuttgart
Chamber Orchestra elected him as its chief conductor to
succeed the legendary Karl Münchinger. Numerous CD
recordings document his close association with that
orchestra, ranging from Baroque to the music of the 20th
century, and in particular a recording of works by Igor
Stravinsky, which won international acclaim.
„When teaching my university conducting class, I am
faced with a wonderfully disparate multinational group
of young musicians. In working with the university
orchestra, it is a great advantage to speak several
languages, since the musicians come from such a wide
variety of countries. Our Europe is constantly expanding
but is nevertheless becoming more compact. How
felicitous and logical is Erwin Pröll’s initiative of
giving Europe this chamber orchestra, not disavowing the
specific musical tradition of Central Europe but
broadening it in harmony with the ideal of the greater
Europe. I am happy to take up the musical challenge of
this venture.“
Born 1970,
Henri Demarquette
enters the National Music Academy in Paris at the age of
13. He also works with Pierre Fournier and later with
Janos Starker in Bloomington, USA. His debut recital at
the age of 17 was immediately noticed by Sir Yehudi
Menuhin who invited him to play Dvorák’s Concerto in
Prague and Paris under the baton of Sir Menuhin himself.
Since then, his international career has been developing
successfully. He has performed in major cities with many
foremost French and foreign symphony and chamber
orchestras – London Philharmonic Orchestra, the
Musikalische Akademie of Mannheim, the Budapest Chamber
Orchestra, l’Orchestre de Bretagne and others. An
inquiring mind, Henri Demarquette likes to take
crossroads, regularly performs contemporary music, and
likes to stand up for singular pieces. One of his most
original adventures is the Piazzolla Forever program
that he performs with the accordionist Richard Galliano
and his septet. He also works in close collaboration
with major contemporary composers and impulses new works
from his close relations with them.
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