April 20, 2012. (Romereports.com) For his 85th birthday,the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig (Germany), which is one of the oldests in the world, has offered a concert to the Pope at the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.
The program included
the spectacular Symphony No. 2, 'Hymn of Praise' by Felix Mendelssohn. Also accompanying the Orchestra was the Gewandhaus and MDR Radiophonic chorus. The concert included the solo voices of Luba Orgonasova, Bernarda Fink and Steve Davislim,
under the direction of Riccardo Chailly.AP/KLH
NOTE: The Leipziger Gewandhaus Orchestra is the oldest orchestra in Europe, not in the world. The oldest orchestra is the Gagaku Shoin, the Imperial Court Orchestra of Japan, which is only several decades younger than the Schola Cantorum Vaticano and has the distinction of being the second oldest continuously existent musical organization.
