Freddie Mercury
PREMIERE AT THE FREDDIE MEMORIAL WEEKEND!
By Jacky
Sep 1, 2006, 10:11

MONTREUX PREMIERE OF TOLGA KASHIF’S
ACCLAIMED QUEEN SYMPHONY FOR
FREDDIE MERCURY MONTREUX MEMORIAL DAY CLOSING
With Queen’s own Brian May among the biggest admirers of the work, there is much to anticipate in composer/conductor Toga Kashif’s Queen Symphony which has its Swiss premiere in Montreux on September 2 as the closing highlight of this year’s Freddie Mercury Montreux Memorial Day celebrations.
Following hugely successful premieres across the world, Kashif has been persuaded to conduct the Sinfonietta de Lausanne in a special performance of his piece at the Stravinsky Auditorium to mark what would have been Mercury’s 60th birthday (September 5). The Sinfonietta de Lausanne is accompanied by the Choeur de la Cité and Choeur des Jeunes de Lausanne.
The brainchild of Kashif, the Queen Symphony is an original new work for orchestra and choir celebrating the enormous legacy of rock legends Queen.
Four years in the making, it explores in a five-movement piece the themes of a number of Queen's enduringly successful songs, drawing on and developing the band's own wide-ranging musical influences and tastes. The themes of this modern classical work are recognizable with several incorporated into each movement, making for an organic whole.
QUEEN songs that have inspired this exciting new symphony include 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'We Are the Champions', 'Who Wants to Live Forever', 'We Will Rock You' and 'Bicycle Race'.
The Symphony received its world premiere on November 6, 2002, at London’s Royal Festival Hall where it was performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

It has since been performed across the world, with premieres in Europe, Australia, and the USA. The recording of the London concert, released on EMI Classics, has topped the classical charts in the UK and Germany. Top ice skater Timothy Goebel, Olympic Bronze and World Silver medallist, used music from the work for his programme for his 2003 - 2005 seasons.

The London premiere audience included Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, and Freddie’s mother, Jer Bulsara. Immediately after, Brian May’s described his reaction as: “Imagine a composer of the imagination and daring of Tchaikovsky, a Holst, or a Mussorgsky. Imagine him let loose with the entire Queen catalogue of melodies, atmospheres and textures, and a vast orchestra and a huge choir. Then you’ll be close to imagining where this work begins. This is something monumental and quite outrageous.”

Little wonder, then, that expectations run high for Kashif’s Montreux debut.

Expect also to see Freddie’s mother, Jer Bulsara and his sister Kashmira Cooke, traveling from the UK for the performance, among the high profile audience.

Preceding Kashif’s unveiling of his Queen Symphony, Switzerland’s most popular jazz musician, Blue Note artist Thierry Lang, pays his own tribute to Freddie Mercury with his very individual interpretations of a number of Freddie's songs, including Guide Me Home, which will be heard in the soundtrack of forthcoming DVD release, Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs and as a bonus track on the accompanying CD The Very Best of Freddie Mercury Solo.

For bookings: www.montreuxmusic.com


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