Amsterdam's Concertgebouw
Osmo Vänskä and Gil Shaham go over a passage in the Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5
Gil Shaham focuses during rehearsal
Musical compatriots
Assistant Conductor, Courtney Lewis, pays close attention during the rehearsal - just in case he is called into action
Rehearsing Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5 in the Concertgebouw
Gil Shaham and Osmo Vänskä enter the concert hall down the dramatic, red-carpeted stairway to the stage
Shaham in concert with the Minnesota Orchestra
A triumphant finish to the concerto
Minnesota Orchestra onstage at the famed Concertgebouw
Mutual appreciation for a satisfying musical collaboration
Gil Shaham receives the customary flower bouquet during the standing ovation
A showy end to the encore, Nihavent Longa, a traditional Turkish melody arranged for violin and orchestra by Gil Shaham
Osmo Vänskä at the climax of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony
Osmo Vänskä descending the staircase to the stage to thunderous applause following a stirring performance
The Minnesota Orchestra performed the final concert of its whirlwind European Festivals tour at Amsterdam’s famed Concertgebouw – to another sold-out audience. Violinist Gil Shaham was reunited with the Orchestra for Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, Turkish, and the concert concluded with an electric performance of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. It’s a work Osmo and the Orchestra know inside out, but their performance was as fresh and charged as if it was the first time.
The audience was on its feet immediately demanding an encore from both the Orchestra and Gil Shaham, who obliged with a rolicking, fiery Turkish folksong, Nihavent Longa, that he arranged for violin and orchestra. It proved the perfect match for his playful, joyous Mozart.
The evening was a fitting finish to a splendid, succesful tour.
