If you fancy taking in one of the best concerts of the Viennese season without leaving Madrid, just get to Plaza de Oriente on May 26 at 8.15pm for a live transmition of the Vienna Philharmonic's annual Summer Night Concert performance. In Vienna the concert is on in the Schönbrunn Palace gardens and features some 100,000 participants. What's more, on May 25 (6pm-9pm) and 26 (noon-10pm) you can find an information stand and interactive installations in the same square to find out more about the city on the Danube.
This year the Summer Night Concert is conducted by Semyon Bychkov from Saint Petersburg, who has enjoyed great success with top orchestras, including the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in the USA, the Orchestre de Paris; the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne; and
Dresden's Semperoper.
Bychkov's wife, Marielle Labèque, along with her sister Katia, are a famous French piano duo. This year they are the two guest soloists for the performance. The following works feature in the concert:
- Georges Bizet: Farandole de L'Arlésienne, suite No 2
- Hector Berlioz: Marcha Rákóczi from 'The Damnation of Faust', op. 24
- Francis Poulenc: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra, D minor, FP 61
- Maurice Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe, suite No 2
- Maurice Ravel: Bolero, ballet for orchestra