Superb End of Festival
Rotterdam Cultuur (Algemene Dagblad)
Rotterdam
September 18, 2006
On Sunday afternoon the tension increased when the furious, grim texts of Arnold Schönberg's A Survivor from Warsaw were hurled into the hall by Maximillian Schell. At the end piercing cords made room for a moving male choir. Whilst the last chords were dying away, the first sounds of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony could be heard. A special effect. Gergiev's rendering of the Allegro was rather classical, but very exciting in the forte passages.
As always, the last movement, with the Ode an die Freude, was the highlight of the piece. The ensemble of the orchestra was excellent, the Yale Festival Chorus formidable and the young soloists were good.
Ger van der Tang