The King, the Queen, Princess Astrid, Prince Laurent and Princess Claire attended the Autumn Concert at the Royal Palace in Brussels yesterday.
courtesy of Belga
The Autumn Concert is organized in collaboration with the Festival of Flanders and the Festival of the Walloon Region.
The Festival of the Walloon Region (Festival de Wallonie) is an annual event that offers 70 concerts in 4 parts of the Walloon Region and in Brussels. The common theme of the concerts is the aspiration to tell people about the region’s architectural and musical heritage, a strong inclination towards parties and conviviality.
This year, the Festival’s main theme is “Britannia”. The concerts are dedicated, as the name suggests, to the United Kingdom, which either gave birth or welcomed four great composers, whose anniversaries are celebrated this year – Purcell (350th birth anniversary), Handel (250th death anniversary), Mendelssohn (200th birth anniversary) and Haydn (100th death anniversary).
To learn more about the Belgian Royal Family, visit this thread.
Marsel Belgian Royals Concert, Music, Prince Laurent, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Claire, Queen Paola
Music written by members of the Romanov dynasty is to be performed for the first time on October 20, during the concert that will take place in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow.
Prince Vladimir Paley
Among the pieces to be performed are polkas, songs, marches, ballads and romances written by Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich and Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna (wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, second son of Nicholas I), as well music based on poetry written by Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley (the son of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich and his morganatic wife Olga Valerianovna Paley) and Prince Oleg Konstantinovich (the immensely talented 4th son of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich who died in battle during World War I, aged just 21). The magnificent music on Ukrainian themes composed by Alexander II will also be heard for the first time.
The audience will have a unique insight into the very soul of members Romanovs: they will see, or rather hear, not statesmen and historical figures but real people with their thoughts, feelings, worries and yearnings.
The Romanov dynasty gave birth to many people distinguished in various fields, including art. All Romanovs received excellent musical education, which resulted in beautiful and touching pieces that show the woes and joys of the times. Among the number of those extraordinary people, two names stand out – Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich and Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley.
Read more…
Marsel Historical Royals, Russian Royals Alexander II, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, Music, Prince Vladimir Paley
Today Swedish King Carl Gustaf awarded the Spanish opera tenor and conductor Placido Domingo with the first Birgit Nilsson Prize, created by late Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson. The Birgit Nilsson Prize was handed out during a ceremony at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm on October 13, 2009. Queen Silvia also attended the ceremony.
- Click at the image to see it at Daylife
Placido Domingo has performed in 130 different parts through his career and won the prize for his “unrivaled” contributions to the world of opera. In a very emotional speech, Domingo said it was “unbelievable” to stand on the stage where Nilsson had performed so many times. He called her “one of the greatest artists, if not the greatest.”
The prize is worth 1 million dollars and is one of the biggest prizes in classical music. The prize is to be awarded every second or third year ‘for outstanding achievement’ in the international field of opera, concert or oratorio. Birgit Nilsson died in December 2005 at age 87. She selected the Spanish tenor herself.
Her_Majesty Swedish Royals Awards, Carl XVI Gustaf, Music, Queen Silvia
Yesterday evening King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia and Crown Princess Victoria attended the annual Polar Music Prize.
Click at the image to get to the official homepage of the PMP
This year’s winners of the Prize were José Antonio Abreu & El Sistema Citation and Peter Gabriel Citation. You can read something about the winners at the official homepage of the Polar Music Prize, which can be found here: Polar Music Prize 2009
After the ceremony a banquet was hosted at Grand Hotel.
Click at image to see it at Zimbio
The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, the producer and manager of ABBA. The prize was named after Anderson´s record label “Polar Music”.
Every year, Laureates from a wide range of countries, cultures and continents recieve the Prize in Stockholm from the hand of the King of Sweden.
Her_Majesty Swedish Royals Awards, Carl XVI Gustaf, Music, Polar Music Prize, Princess Victoria, Queen Silvia
click here to see the photo from the Gazette and Herald
The Duchess of Kent was treated to a special concert at the Ryedale Festival tea party. Young musicians from the Future Talent Champions charity played a concert for over 100 people at the Kirkby Misperton Village Hall. Ken Overton, who is the festival’s chairperson told the Gazette and Herald “the concert was fantastic and very emotional. Each of the young people who played have started to achieve, but haven’t reached the level where they are performing in concert”.
Future Talent Champions is a charity group that is dedicated to helping young musicians, especially those who have grown up in poverty. The Duchess of Kent serves as a trustee for the group. She greeted the musicians and concert goers, and stressed the importance of giving young people the opportunity to perform in a concert setting.
The Ryedale Festival lasted for two weeks, and ended with a concert at Hovingham Hall, which coincidentally, is the birthplace of the Duchess.
For more information about the Ryedale Festival, please visit this website.
For more information about the Future Talent Champions, please visit this website.
To read about, and to discuss the Duchess of Kent, please visit this thread.
sgl British Royals Duchess of Kent, Music
The Tønder Festival has been announced as the first patronage of HRH Princess Marie.
Click to read Marie's biography
The annual folk music festival, which takes place in the southern-Danish city of Tønder neighbouring Marie’s home at Schackenborg Castle, has been running since 1975. The festival traditionally runs on the last weekend of August each year, the dates for this year’s concert being August 27-30. As well as local Danish artists, performers from Ireland, Scotland, England, the US and Canada come to Tønder each year to perform for the 22,000 people who come through the gates at the festival.
Click here to read more about the Princess’ first patronage.
JessRulz Danish Royals Music, Patronage, Princess Marie
Click here to see the photo at royalblog
On Sunday, when the Shunyukai Symphony Orchestra performed Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Tokyo, Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan played the viola. (Article) This has been the sixth time for the prince to perform in the amateur orchestra, of which he is an honorary member. The prince who is known to be passionately fond of music also sometimes plays viola in the orchestra of Gakushuin University, his old school in Tokyo, as he did last December.
Click here to see the photo at belgapicture
But the crown prince is not only playing in public. Music is a very popular evening entertainment with the imperial family: Empress Michiko plays the harp or the piano, Emperor Akihito cello and Prince Naruhito viola. (Initially, Naruhito´s instrument had been the violin, but he later switched to the viola because the violin seemed to be “too much of a leader, too prominent” for the modest prince´s taste.) Friends of the imperial family use to make up the rest. And maybe some day the musical ensemble will receive another “imperial addition”: last year, the crown prince´s only child, Princess Aiko, started to take violin and piano lessons.
ChiaraC Japanese Royals Music, Prince Naruhito, Princess Aiko
Click the image to see the photo gallery from The Age
The rain couldn’t keep the Melbournians away from the MCG on Saturday, likewise the SCG in Sydney; to attend the sold-out Sound Relief concert to benefit the victims of last month’s Victorian Black Saturday bushfires and the Queensland floods. And it wasn’t only the top-grade music line-up to receive rapturous applause: when Princes William and Harry appeared on the big screens in both venues via a pre-recorded video, the crowds cheered.
The Princes first apologised for not being able to attend the events in person, before Prince William began, “Like so many people throughout the world, both of us have watched the devastating news of the catastrophic bushfires in Victoria and floods in Queensland. For those survivors who have lost someone they love, we can only imagine what they are going through … for them, and for all those left injured & homeless, the tragedy is far from over.” The second-in-line also paid tribute to the emergency service workers, “We almost must never forget the amazing and heroic efforts of the emergency services … who have done so much to save so many lives.”
Harry then continued, “Today, you will all be enjoying these great performers who have generously given their time to honour those who have died and been hurt and those who risked their lives to save others. The line-up looks amazing and the concert is a magnificent effort by the Australian Music Community – to pay tribute in the way they know best. And of course all the funds raised will go a long way to help those who have lost so much. We just want to wish a great, and no doubt moving, evening to all of you – performers and crowd alike.”
Read more…
JessRulz British Royals Concert, Music, Prince Harry, Prince William
