Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Played to Standing Ovation at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA

    FAIRFAX, VA, January 31, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- As part of the orchestra's American tour celebrating its 75th anniversary, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) performed last night, Saturday, January 29, 2022, at the George Mason Center for the Arts. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) and music director Vasily Petrenko indulged an audience of 400+ to a performance marked by uncompromising excellence and exhilarating musicianship- hallmarks of RPO. The program opened with a stunning performance of Benjamin Britten's first suite, Four Sea Interludes from the opera Peter Grimes.

Impeccable tonality, rhythm, movement, and emotion set audience expectations high within the first opening measures. The orchestra, conducted by Vasily Petrenko, did not disappoint. Every orchestral section performed flawlessly- fluid, smooth, melodic strings; crisp percussion; clear, colorful, warm woodwinds; and brilliant, bold brass. Each section masterfully stretched its limits of versatility throughout last night's performance.

Cello Concerto in E minor, Op 85, composed in 1919 by Edward Elgar, featured cello soloist Kian Soltani. Soltani's performance received a standing ovation that garnered an encore solo performance (Bach).

The program concluded with Rachmaninov's last major composition, Symphonic Dances, Op 45 (1945). Petrenko's interpretation of the classic was brilliant from the start, mastering "Non-Allegro's" rhythmic accents. It received another standing ovation, followed by an encore performance that concluded the evening's program.

Last night marked the twelfth of fourteen concerts at nine venues in this coast-to-coast American tour, the first large-scale tour for Petrenko since becoming RPO's music director last year (2021). Opening earlier this month on the west coast in Santa Barbara, California, the tour concludes in two days. Today, RPO performs at the State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick at 3 pm, January 30. The tour concludes tomorrow, January 31, at New York's Carnegie Hall. While the Royal Philharmonic hasn't performed at Carnegie in 25 years, the Carnegie-RPO reunion is a fitting grand finale for a memorable tour.

For 2022 performance schedules, visit:
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at https://www.rpo.co.uk
Vasily Petrenko (International) at https://vasilypetrenkomusic.com/concerts/
Kian Soltani at https://www.kiansoltani.com/home
George Mason Center for the Arts at https://cfa.gmu.edu/.

Kian Soltani returns stateside this February 11 to perform with the Pittsburgh Symphony conductor Manfred Honeck at Heinz Hall.

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