With a concert entitled “In Praise of a Hero”, the Belgrade Philharmonic held a deeply emotional farewell to Gabriel Feltz, the recently deceased Chief Conductor, last night in Kolarac Concert Hall. The orchestra performed an unprecedented feat by playing the Prelude from Wagner’s opera “Tristan und Isolde” and Beethoven’s symphony “Eroica” without a conductor, showing all its grandiosity as a merit and eternal legacy of the beloved Chief Conductor, written in golden letters in the history of the Philharmonic.
The most touching standing ovations and ten-minute applause from the moved audience accompanied the magnificent farewell concert organized in Feltz’ honor. Through tears and notes, the Belgrade Philharmonic said goodbye to the inimitable Chief Conductor, with a concert he would have been extremely proud of. Although he was not at the conductor’s stand, Feltz’s presence was almost palpable. Following the numerous and detailed instructions of the Chief Conductor woven deep into them, the musicians, led by concertmaster Misha Andrushchenko, could almost clearly see their maestro in front of them. The numerous audience in the packed Kolarac Hall, who loved and deeply appreciated Feltz as an artist and a man, also agreed in the unique impression and unusual feeling of the omnipresence of his energetic spirit.
The Philharmonic farewell began with a heroic feat, unrecorded in the world history of musical performance, of playing Wagner’s Prelude from “Tristan und Isolde” in full orchestral cast without a conductor. “Tristan’s Chord”, the most famous symbol of eternal longing in the history of music, was a strong message of love for Gabriel and a memory of the masterful performance of this opera in its integral version under the baton of Feltz in February of this year.
The grandiose “Eroica” by Ludwig van Beethoven, “dedicated to the memory of a great man”, carried the layered symbolism of the entire life and professional path of Gabriel Feltz, reflecting the specific artistic aesthetics that he wove into the performance profile of the Belgrade Philharmonic. His interpretation of this symphony resulted in one of the most authentic performance achievements of the orchestra and Feltz. With tonight’s performance, the Belgrade Philharmonic demonstrated all its strength, performance skills, courage and unity – from the energetic first movement, through the famous posthumous march played and listened to in tears, to the glorious finale, which showed all the strength of the ensemble.
Between the two compositions, a short documentary film by the author Miloš Škundrić was shown, about the deeply emotional relationship of the Chief Conductor with the orchestra and the entire Serbian culture. Poignant beauty accompanied the entire concert called “In Praise of a Hero”, as a reflection of Feltz’s greatness and merit.
After more than a hundred concerts together, tonight he made great heroes out of all the musicians of the Belgrade Philharmonic, whose feat will go down in history as a new Philharmonic breakthrough of which Gabriel Feltz would be truly proud.
