Showing 1 - 10 of 18
Variations for Valentines
Life, Harry Rolnick, Published on 23/01/2019
» Not slushy or sloppy or kissy-kissy, but three faces of real love will be presented by the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra for St Valentine's month offering at the Thailand Cultural Centre on Feb 8. The first face is the tragedy of love, the second face is the love of beauty, and the third is one of the most emotional offerings of love to humanity in general.
Brahms, Schumann and a royal tribute
Life, Harry Rolnick, Published on 06/07/2017
» On July 15, the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra will feature two giants of 19th century musical history and one world premiere tribute to Thailand's late monarch.
Playing up the pomp and circumstance
Life, Harry Rolnick, Published on 14/07/2015
» Anybody in Thailand got a good cello concerto for sale? If so, get it ready by next Tuesday. One of the world's greatest cellists is coming to Bangkok, and his reputation for playing original cello concertos is as celebrated as his performances.
The music of James Bond
Life, Harry Rolnick, Published on 02/11/2017
» If you want to win a sure-fire bet, just ask any moviegoer, any fan of the James Bond films: "Who composed the theme that goes through every single James Bond movie? The one that goes dum di-di dum dum dum?
Tremendous trombone
Life, Harry Rolnick, Published on 30/01/2018
» 'Never look directly at a trombone player," said the great composer Richard Strauss. "It only encourages them." Then again, the German composer was hardly being honest about an instrument which Felix Mendelssohn called "the most sacred and noble instrument in the orchestra".
Valentina Lisitsa's outspoken words, outgoing music
Life, Harry Rolnick, Published on 12/12/2017
» Wonderful news for music lovers who hate Tchaikovsky symphonies. On Friday, the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra (RBSO) will be performing a Tchaikovsky symphony.
Brahms brought to Bangkok
Life, Harry Rolnick, Published on 21/05/2018
» Two favourite artists of Bangkok audiences are taking on two mighty works from the late Romantic era at the end of May. Mayuko Kamio will perform Brahms Violin Concerto with her 1731 "Rubenoff" Stradivarius, while Michael Tilkin, with a mere stick in his left hand, will perform Jan Sibelius's Second Symphony.
Summoning the masters by cello
Life, Harry Rolnick, Published on 31/08/2017
» The great cellist Pablo Casals gave the second-best description of the cello. "The cello," he said, "is like a beautiful woman who has not grown older but younger with time, more slender, more supple, more graceful." The greatest description of the cello contained no words at all, and this wordless description is what Bangkok will experience on Sept 2.
The Magic of the Musicals
Life, Harry Rolnick, Published on 01/09/2016
» To be honest, "The Magic Of The Musicals" didn't start with The Sound Of Music or The Phantom Of The Opera or even My Fair Lady.
A rare piece of Tchaikovsky
Life, Harry Rolnick, Published on 27/04/2017
» So you thought you knew everything about Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky? His morbid Pathetique? His romantic Romeo And Juliet? His warmongering 1812 Overture? Well, think again. Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra is offering on Friday a major work by Tchaikovsky which is rarely played these days -- but counts, in its original form, as one of the most celebrated works in the history of music.