“Eros” – this is the motto of the 2022 program for Worlds of Music. Under this principle, the Danube Philharmonic Orchestra played the concert “Vive l’amour! – Long live the love! ”, whose music has spanned broadly from opera, operetta and cinema to Jewish songs and French songs. Manfred Musauer, artistic director of the world of music and principal conductor of the Danube Philharmonic, created a wonderful harmony between these different musical genres and performed at the ballroom of HTL Karlstein.
In the preface to the opera “Der Vampire” by Heinrich A. Marchner, the woodwinds alternated between dynamic, fast-paced arcades and gentle nuances. Through the song Danses roumaines by singer Béla Bartók, the Hungarian-born instrumentalist and singer demonstrated her violin-playing skills, first in a deep melancholy, then in a breathless drama. Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 saw Katika Eleni compete with the annoying violin before the Hungarian mood took hold.
Katika Eleni is also considered the best Theremin player in the world, and she proved this, among other things, in “Once Upon a Time in the West” by Enio Morricone, but especially in “Oh Lonely Mio” by Eduardo de Capua. The Theremin is an electronic musical instrument invented in the 1920’s. The pitch and volume are controlled without contact by simply placing your hands on two electrodes.
The orchestra gave Franz Lehr’s dance to the “Zuanzenet” orchestra a lively rhythm. Katika Eleni sang her elaborate interpretation of Edith Piaf’s “A quoi ca sert l’amour” song. In the end, the orchestra and the singer invited the audience with the Yiddish song “Bei mir bistu Shein” by Shulom Secunda.
Dexterity and tactile emotion
Delicate entries, precise instrumentation, tactile virtuosity and passion on the part of the musicians, the ingenuity of soloist Katika Eleni, leading Manfred Mossauer with complete physical effort and the greatest concentration – the concert fulfilled all expectations.
Manfred Musauer was born in Weidhoven, and was appointed by Herbert von Karajan as an assistant at the Salzburg Festival during his undergraduate and university studies. He has also worked with Riccardo Moti and James Levine. In 2000 he founded the Danube Philharmonic Orchestra, which has developed into a successful international orchestra under his direction.
“Travel aficionado. Certified problem solver. Pop culture guru. Typical writer. Entrepreneur. Coffee trailblazer.”
More Stories
Sylvia Schneider in Ireland is on the Halloween trail
»Festival de la Chasse«: a gastronomic event about fishing and regional cuisine
Salma Hayek's strategy for staying financially independent