The Queen Symphony is the brainchild of composer, conductor and arranger Tolga Kashif. Four years in the making, it is an explosive new work for orchestra and choir celebrating the enormous musical legacy of rock legends Queen. It is an opportunity to hear their most famous tunes as you have never heard them before.
The album was released in November 2002 on EMI Classics, and reached the following chart positions:
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The work received its world premiere on November 6th 2002 at London's Royal Festival Hall in the presence of Brian May, Roger Taylor and Freddie Mercury's mother Jer Bulsara. Upcoming performances include premieres in Portugal, Italy, Lithuania and Romania and further performances in the Netherlands. Tolga Kashif has also been invited to conduct the piece at this year's Septembre Musical in Montreux at the world-famous Auditorium Stravinski. This will form part of the official Freddie Mercury commemorations, on what would have been his 60th birthday. This year and next he will also conduct it on a UK tour, taking in many of the major concert venues. "Imagine a composer of the imagination and daring of a 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." |
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Recent performances: June 2003 - Izmir Festival, Turkey
Tolga conducted the Lausanne Sinfonietta in a special perfomance at the Stravinski Auditorium in Montreux as part of the September Musical Festival. The concert was a main part of the 4th Freddie Mercury Montreux Memorial Day commemorating and celebrating the 60th birthday of Queen's lead singer. Further details can be found at www.montreuxmusic.com The Symphony was also performed by the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra at the National Concert Hall in Vilnius. Saturday, 14th April - Colston Hall, BRISTOL with Bristol Choral Society and the Royal Philharmonic. Saturday, 21st April - The Anvil, BASINGSTOKE with Bristol Choral Society and the Royal Philharmonic. Sunday, 27th May - Cliffs Pavilion, SOUTHEND with Southend Festival Chorus, Southend Boys' and Girls' Choirs and the Royal Philharmonic. Box Office: 01702 351 135, www.thecliffspavilion.co.uk Sunday, 3rd June - The Derngate, NORTHAMPTON - with the Northampton Bach Choir and the Royal Philharmonic. Box Office: 01604 624 811, www.royalandderngate.com Sunday, 10th June - Symphony Hall, BIRMINGHAM - with Leeds Philharmonic Choir and the Orchestra of Opera North. Box Office: 0121 780 3333, www.necgroup.co.uk April 2007 - Oxford |
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