If the year in Giengen is like his New Year’s concert, then it will be like this: cheerful, lively, full of lightness and good ideas and, above all, characterized by great skill. “Welcome to Hollywood” was the title, and film music could rightly be expected. And what the over 90 musicians of the Municipal Music School’s symphony orchestra – consisting of former and current music students, teachers and professionals – made of this topic was a great thing. What Marion Zenker came up with for the New Year’s Concert of the Municipal Music School on Saturday evening in the Walter Schmid Hall went far beyond musical enjoyment.
It started with a rumble, one of the most famous rumbles in music and film history: the one that leads to the timeless majesty of Richard Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra” and thus to the famous “A Space Odyssey”. And in view of the impeccable implementation, even Marion Zenker at the conductor’s podium stopped spitting for a moment: “I’m always amazed at what the orchestra can do.” And with that she certainly spoke from the hearts of the audience, who had only left a few seats free. You can imagine what hard work and toil went on during the few days of rehearsals that the musicians were able to have together to achieve such perfection.
Municipal music school plays in sync with the film scene
The skill of the dubbing became particularly clear: the orchestra accompanied the film sequences live with the corresponding music. This meant ultimate magic for the audience through every glitter of the fairies set in motion to match the music in “Fantasia” to Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and hardly increasing intensity in “Married Life” from “Up” – for the actors including the conductor utmost concentration, sensitivity and virtuosity, so that every note was just right. And that’s what he did – and that alone shows the special quality of the orchestra, whose members showed great joy in what they did throughout the entire long concert evening of around three hours.
And just like in the cinema, there was action in “How to Train Your Dragon”, monumental stories in “Dances with Wolves”, whose music is in no way inferior to the size of the story, and the music with all its changes was interpreted very well. And in addition to the musical enjoyment, there were also images from the film about the actually forbidden friendship between Vikings and dragons on the one hand and the Lieutenant and the Sioux on the other, which gave the enjoyment another dimension.
Panther and traditional waltz in the Walter Schmid Hall
This was also the case with “Pink Panther”: The famous music by Henry Mancini with its promising tension, so to speak on the quiet panther paws, did not miss its effect this time either, but rather provided plenty of tension like in the film. And the comedy wasn’t left out either: Paulchen Panther actually appeared – finely choreographed to the music, of course – and with him a gentleman in a trench coat who bore a striking resemblance to Inspector Clouseau, Peter Sellers and Christian Zenker. That was the icing on the cake, and the audience acknowledged it with joy and spontaneous applause.
undefinedundefined
“Do you know where to?”, this text may have come to mind for some older visitors when listening to the music from “Doctor Zhivago”. The “where to” question at the Giengen New Year’s Concert is quickly answered: onto the dance floor. After all, the waltz is something like the Giengen Radetzky March – a tradition for the New Year’s concert. And fortunately there were couples who kept this tradition going. James-Christian served mint chocolate to the music of “Downtown Abbey” and a martini to the James Bond medley, and it can be assumed that this was shaken in style and not stirred. The special agent with his special melodies from “For your eyes only”, “Live and let die” and “Goldfinger” enjoyed himself like a rich cocktail.
Big cinema in the Walter-Schmid-Halle, also thanks to one or two shows. Markus Brandhuber
And the concert was also interactive: On their seats, the visitors actually found a small action package with a streamer and glow stick as a laser sword for “Star Wars”, a handkerchief for emotional tears and a little bell in case belief in a miracle should ever wane like in the “Polar Express”, which made an enchanting stop here with singing by Despoina Kotsamani and Sophia Werner.
From the fanfares of the film companies to the subtle thrill and striking electric guitar (Filip Marius) in “Inception” and the waltz bliss in “Carousel of Life” to the encore “In the Hall of the Mountain King” from “Peer Gynt” – none Film music, but one of the classical pieces of music most often used in films – the orchestra showed brilliant performances time and again. And that can also be said about the concept of the entire concert: a program that is as demanding as it is catchy, lots of gags, punchlines and the reliable technique (Marko Speer) and artists who impressed with passion and performance in equal measure. Time flew by with this lively program, which literally got the audience off their feet so that the applause was given while standing. The year can only be good after a start like this. And if not, then the bell will help.
Mayor Dieter Henle not only had the best wishes for the new year in his greeting and got the mood for the concert, but also some news. In the future, the Stefan Doraszelski Foundation, which already acts as a sponsor for many cultural institutions in the district, will also support the New Year’s Concert of the Municipal Music School.
2024-01-07 11:38:16
#Years #concert #Giengen #caused #great #cinema
