November 9, 2018
The Orchestra National de Lyon’s concerts in Berlin and Leipzig were met with standing ovations from audiences and rave reviews from critics. Under the baton of Directeur Musical Honoraire Leonard Slatkin, the orchestra is touring Germany through November 13, performing in a total of six cities.
“Dream and Wonder: Berlin Guest Performance with the Orchestre National de Lyon”
“With precision and a sense of drama, the 74-year-old maestro directs Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, motivating the French orchestra, for which he served as music director from 2011 to 2017, to produce a wonderfully rich and colorful sound, continuously expanding as if depicting grand, wide-format cinema. This is sound painting at its finest, from an entertaining tour of the exhibition with a guide who enjoys every detail of the orchestration, to the magnificent apotheosis of the ‘Great Gate of Kiev,’ informed by an atmosphere of spirituality.”
—Frederik Hanssen, Der Tagesspiegel (translated from German)
“L’ONL triomphe à Berlin et à Leipzig”
—Antonio Mafra, Le Progres
“Le tour d’Allemagne de l’Orchestre national de Lyon”
—Emmanuelle Giuliani, La Croix
“Vom Märchenhaften zum Fantastischen”
—Diethard Hennig, Erlanger Nachrichten
“Armistice: France and Germany In Tune”
“The stakes are high for an orchestra on tour, eager to show other audiences what it’s truly made of. But when it comes to playing in one of the most legendary halls in the world, the Philharmonie in Berlin, the challenge is daunting. Especially when it’s the first time, which was the case for the ONL, founded in 1969. But Slatkin’s professionalism and experience serve as major assets in reassuring an orchestra, not to mention his well-known familiarity with the French repertoire. Only six months after open-heart surgery, the maestro appeared serene and confident in a program of elegance and a sense of proportion, chosen to highlight the unique characteristics of the Lyon musicians.”
—Christian Merlin, Le Figaro (translated from French)
“Mannheim/Rosengarten: Khatia Buniatishvili—Orch. National de Lyon—Leonard Slatkin”
—Gerhard Hoffmann, Online Merker
“Musikalische Verführung: Khatia Buniatishvili und das Orchestre National de Lyon im Rosengarten”
—Markus Pacher, Die Rheinpfalz
“Schlicht und schön: Khatia Buniatishvili mit dem Orchestre National de Lyon”
—Andreas Pernpeintner, Süeddeutsche Zeitung