“For five days in May, with 100 other amateur musicians, I was allowed to dream,” writes Ariane Todes in Tuesday’s (6/26) Guardian (U.K.). “We were the guests of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, selected (by video audition) from 1,900 applicants from 30 countries to be part of the BE PHIL Orchestra, conducted in Brahms’s First Symphony by Sir Simon Rattle himself.… Over the first two days, we rehearse with conductor and Berlin Phil violinist Stanley Dodds, one of the brains behind the project…. We prove the cliché that music is an international language. We come from countries and cultures as various as Brazil, Bolivia, Trinidad, Taiwan and Turkey; we range in age from 10 to 75. Some of us went to conservatoires, some not; among us are students, postmen, teachers, software developers, office managers, doctors, airline pilots and scientists…. Rattle and the Berlin Phil’s unique initiative is a visionary act of idealism and generosity that demonstrates their stated commitment to the benefits of music from cradle to grave.… Playing Brahms with him in the Philharmonie will always be a privilege … but having an active and inspiring music life, at any level, should not be.”
Posted June 27, 2018
