Conductor, Sir Charle Mackerras with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra _320
SIR CHARLES MACKERRAS, one of Britain’s greatest conductors, was at the age of 83 back at work in Liverpool yesterday.
He was busy rehearsing the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in two of its first major concerts of the year.
They will feature the 27-year-old violinist Sarah Chang, a big name newcomer on the classical scene, playing the Brahms violin concerto and making her Liverpool debut.
With Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and Wagner’s Flying Dutchman Overture also on the bill in the concerts tomorrow and Friday at the Philharmonic Hall, it will be a typically muscular programme for the octogenarian.
It will also mark special dates for Sir Charles, his first concerts as the newly-appointed Conductor Emeritus of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
The honour comes after a lifetime of music-making and a particular association with the Liverpool orchestra.
It was obvious at rehearsals that the orchestra holds Sir Charles in much affection, an emotion returned with as much vigour by the conductor.
For most of the players, the honour to Sir Charles yesterday came as a surprise.
The Phil’s chief executive, Michael Eakin, made the presentation of a framed certificate from the stage before rehearsals began to cheering from the delighted musicians. He was joined by orchestra leader James Clark and executive director Andrew Cornall.
Sir Charles said he was honoured with the honorary title of Conductor Emeritus of the orchestra, saying: “I accept it with gratitude and pleasure.”
He said the two Phil concerts will be his first engagements of the year, adding: “I think back with a lot of pleasure on all the recordings we have made together over the years, in particular, of course, the Beethoven Symphonies.”
The complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies were indeed one of the highlights of Sir Charles’s long association with the orchestra, considered among the finest. But there have been many more. Other acclaimed recordings include the Mahler symphonies 1 and 5, works by Delius and Moussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. He has also worked with the orchestra in Germany, Spain and Switzerland.
Opera-goers will recall Sir Charles with the Welsh National Opera (WNO) during their many visits to the Liverpool Empire. He is now also Conductor Emeritus of the WNO.
A Phil spokesperson said the appointment was part of its aim to recognise and honour the most important musicians of the day, adding: “Sir Charles has made a significant contribution to the musical life of the Phil and Liverpool.”
He follows Vernon Handley in the role, the conductor who died last year.
Sir Charles was born in New York of Australian parents, and studied music in Australia and Prague, as well as London, where he made an early impression conducting opera at the Royal Opera House.
Opera has remained one of his great loves, although he has built a reputation as an exponent of Czech music, particularly the works of Janacek.
He has conducted most of the world’s great orchestras, hand as been honoured by many, and is generally recognised as one of the great conductors of his day.
His two concerts with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic as part of the Classic FM series are at the Philharmonic Hall tomorrow and Friday.
