Culture

Great cinema, but no moving pictures

Tobias Grabher and his Camerata Musica Reno

(Bild: Camerata)

Tobias Grabher and his Camerata Musica Reno took Michael Köhlmeier into the world of film over the Easter weekend.

Classical orchestras are discovering the world of film, a trend that has been observable for some years now. The reasons are obvious: film music appeals to a wider audience, it arouses emotions and, unlike most classical music of its era, is tonal. The Vorarlberg conductor Tobias Grabher also played this trump card, which brought him, together with his star guest Michael Köhlmeier, a full house on three evenings at the Theater Kosmos in Bregenz.

Tobias Grabher chose the program wisely, as broadband sound would not be appropriate with this clearly articulating chamber orchestra. However, it set a strong accent right at the beginning with Erich Wolfgang Korngold's music to "Robin Hood". Like many of his colleagues, the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu, who is well-known in the musical avant-garde, also wrote film music, but not for blockbusters. He combined three such pieces into a suite, which the Camerata Musica Reno played with great care.

Michael Köhlmeier entertained his audience very well.

(Bild: Heike Bogenberger)

The seven dances from the film "Il Gattopardo" - "The Leopard" - were a great delight. The composer was the multi-award-winning Nino Rota, who is often referred to as the "Mozart of film". After this gallant music, however, one might rather think of Johann Strauss.

Room for entertaining stories
Between the musical program blocks, Michael Köhlmeier had room for his stories. There was, for example, the touching story of the imprisoned Richard the Lionheart and his singer friend Blondel. But there were also anecdotes about the film, and Köhlmeier rightly took up the cudgels for the great art of dubbing, always entertaining and witty.

After he also gave an admiring analysis of the astonishing dramaturgy in Alfred Hitchcock's shockers and the orchestra played a piece from Bernhard Herrmann's music for "Psycho", the concert continued with pieces that were not written for a film but were used in one.

The audience celebrated the young musicians and the mature narrator. It was great to see how well they harmonized together!