Alongside the Hungarian National Folk Ensemble, the violinist performed the Rhapsody No. 2 of Béla Bartók as guest soloist and representative of Canada, opening a three-hour concert-event.
It is a great honor to be here
reacted Alexandre Da Costa in an interview shortly after his performance.
” I did 2000 concerts abroad. […] But that line in my CV, it will always bring back very, very good memories. »
The show, which was intended as a gift from Hungary to the Queen of England in honor of her 70 years of reign, mixed the works the most technical and complex
of the country to the choreographies of the dancers of the Hungarian National Folklore Ensemble.
In all, some 150 artists walked the boards of the Sadler’s Wells Theater of London, including the musicians of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Conquer the world through art
For Alexandre Da Costa, this return to the stage abroad serves as a reminder after many years of pandemic: that of dream big
.
It’s my place to be a musician who travels and who represents my country as best I can, he says. It is really touching.
Alexandre Da Costa’s desire for grandeur is not limited to his solo career.
In August, the Orchester symphonique de Longueuil, which he conducts, will go on tour abroad for the first time in its history – a series of ten concerts in Brazil and Colombia. In 2024, the ensemble will head for Austria and Spain.
You have to feel that what you do in Quebec is extremely exportable, he says. We are a very beautiful people of creators, and a very powerful art incubator recognized throughout the world.
” It’s worth wanting to conquer the world through art, not out of ambition, but out of a desire to share something magical with people. »
Alexandre Da Costa has offered many concerts in Europe and Asia.
Photo: Radio-Canada
The Symphonic balconies immortalized
During the pandemic, Alexandre Da Costa put his international dreams on hold in order to take care, in his own way, of the most vulnerable.
I had big questions. I told myself that I was not bringing enough luminosity and therapy to the people who needed it
he says.
This is how he decided, with a small group of musicians from the Orchester symphonique de Longueuil, to travel across Quebec to offer some 120 intimate concerts on the grounds of residences for the elderly, CHSLD and hospitals.
Over these Symphonic balconiesthe ensemble’s repertoire, initially centered on the work of Beethoven and Mozart, gradually evolved to make way for adaptations of great Quebec songs, such as I love you like crazyby Robert Charlebois, and A chance that we haveby Jean-Pierre Ferland.
Everything will be immortalized in an album entitled Stradivarius, I rememberwhich is due out in June.
For Alexandre Da Costa, it is about symphonize
Quebec and French-speaking music in a format without words, which allows him to travel beyond the borders of language.
Music is a universal language that can be shared with any audience
he concludes.