– June 29, 2024 (Swiss Music Review)
The first concert of the newly-created Philharmonie AVS orchestra, to which many retired USDAM members took part took place on April 19 in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
In the January/February 2022 issue of the Swiss Music Review, Bruno Schneider presented his new project to the public: the retired horn player, who had played in several major orchestras and taught at various music colleges, had noticed that, while there were countless youth orchestras, there was no orchestra for older musicians in retirement. He had the idea of founding such an orchestra, not only to offer his retired colleagues an opportunity to perform, but also to thank society as a whole, through concerts, for its financial support of orchestras and training venues. The orchestra was, of course, to perform without charging a fee, and any profits were to be donated to charity. Bruno Schneider’s call for interested parties to contact him met with a great response, enabling him to get to work straight away on making the idea of an AVS Philharmonic a reality. Two projects have been organized for 2024: a concert at the Salle de Musique in La Chaux-de Fonds and a forthcoming concert at the French Church in Berne (December 15, 2024).
An orchestra with an unusual ambience
The two days of rehearsals and the concert in the snow-covered Neuchâtel Jura, in which I personally took part, were a wonderful experience for everyone involved: an orchestra, in which everyone collaborates voluntarily, has a special atmosphere. What’s more, you can meet up with colleagues with whom you may have played together long ago, in the conservatory orchestra, the Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra, at the music academy or, later, in professional orchestras. Particularly striking was also the fact that all the members of the orchestra had been practicing their craft, usually for decades, at a very high level, totalling “2000 years of orchestral experience”, as one colleague rightly remarked. Violinist Madeleine Carruzzo, until recently a member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, was an excellent concertmaster. Entrusting the musical direction to the young Mongolian conductor Nandingua Bayarbaatar, trained in Geneva, also proved to be a very good idea. Well-prepared, she was able to benefit from the orchestra members’ knowledge and constructive criticism, conducting the concert with brio and sympathetic charisma. The program included Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony and Mozart’s Symphonie concertante for winds KV 297, in which soloists Roland Perrenoud (oboe), André Grillon (clarinet), Bruno Schneider (horn) and Stefan Buri (bassoon) displayed their always remarkable virtuosity and musicality. The audience in the packed concert hall was enthralled by the Philharmonie AVS, and Procap, an association for people with disabilities, received a handsome donation. Further projects are already planned for 2025.
The AVS Philharmonic conducted by Nandingua Bayarbaatar (Photo: Jean-François Taillard)