Two Great Masters: Babayan and Briger Join Forces in Mesmerizing Tours Performance
In a programme entitled “Two Masters Out Of Their Time”, Alexander Briger conducted the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Tours in the French Loire region, in a series of performances that turned out to be a highlight of the season, with Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with Sergei Babayan as soloist. The legendary piano master and Deutsche Grammophon exclusive artist spends himself an important part of every year in Tours, and the debut with ‘his’ home orchestra has been a triumph. The deep musical understanding with Alexander Briger was palpable, and the reviews raved:
“Alexander Briger, whose baton ensures the most intimate connection with the orchestra and leads them from the most tender moments to full jubilation.”
“Spectacular moments were to be expected with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and the 2nd Symphony by Brahms, delivered by two great masters of the international concert circuit, and they delivered on that promise right from the start, when Babayan had the mesmerizing volcano erupt with impressive vitality that is Rachmaninoff’s concerto: with thunderstorms of notes and head-spinning virtuosity, with a thundering bass and poetic delicacy of his translucid top register. Promise also kept by Alexander Briger, whose baton ensures the most intimate connection with the orchestra and leads them from the most tender moments to full jubilation in the beautiful landscapes of Brahms’ score. A great spectacle, not to be missed!” (La Nouevlle République)
Read more here (in French).
Rachmaninoff’s concerto was “superbly interpreted by a conductor highly attentive to nuances and colours, by an orchestra of powerful sonorities, and a particularly sensitive pianist; it was in fact in the delicate chamber music moments where the understanding between conductor, soloist and orchestra was the most stunning. […] The maestro is economical, with a clear and muscular conduct at the same time. He shows himself capable of murmured pianissimi of exceptional tension. We find the excellence of the instrumentalists of the Tours orchestra, […] majestic, serene, ecstatic. Brahms’ Symphonies still have many things to teach us, and did not fail to fascinate.” (classique news)
