On a night when it seemed the entire Dutch nation was watching the Netherlands vs England in the semi-finals of the European Football Championship, French conductor Alexandre Bloch brought the Orchestre National de Lille to the Concertgebouw for a performance which brought to a close his eight-year tenure as Music Director. Violinist Esther Yoo, recovering from whiplash following a car accident last weekend, was replaced by the young Dutch violinist Noa Wildschut. Rehearsals in Lille earlier in the week and further rehearsals on the day had hopefully given time for sufficient preparation. Anticipation was high.
Wildschut performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor in the Concertgebouw
Watch Wildschut play the Bruch with the Residentie Orkest in 2021
Beautiful pictures from Ugo Ponte documenting rehearsal time earlier that day
Alexandre Bloch in his last rehearsal with the Orchestre National de Lille. He is succeeded by American conductor and violinist Joshua Weilerstein
Click on the link below to read Clare’s review for Bachtrack
The concert
More about Alexandre Bloch
Bloch’s next engagement further cemented his interest in working with the young and talented as he led the National Youth Orchestra (UK) in their BBC Proms performance of Mahler 1 at the Albert Hall on Saturday 10th August, 2024. Click here to hear the concert on BBC Sounds and click below to read the review…
Some fun listening
When researching this concert, I came across this phenomenal recording of the overture to Russlan and Ludmilla made by the London Horn Sound in 2009. French horn playing to aspire to! The whole album is well worth a listen.
Read more from Clare
This concert was reviewed in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam on 10th July, 2024
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