Classical music festivals inhabit varied locations around the globe: country houses, castles, cathedrals, Alpine slopes. But have you ever encountered a classical music festival held at a marina? And if that isn’t unusual or tempting enough, how about a marina in Bodrum, on the southwest tip of Turkey? Its unique location makes the D-Marin Turgutreis International Classical Music festival something a little out of the ordinary. Supported by founding sponsor Doğuş Group, the 11th festival takes place between the 15th and 19th August, featuring prominent international, as well as Turkish, artists, with the aim to provide local audiences with greater access to great music.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra features in two high profile concerts, under Principal Conductor Charles Dutoit. In “Russian Fire”, two warhorses of the Russian repertoire kick off the festival in spectacular style. Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, while not as famous as the “Pathétique”, can be even more moving. The symphony opens with a long, wistful clarinet solo and Tchaikovsky brings back this theme in different guises in each movement – an elegiac Andante cantabile, a waltz and in the stirring finale. Dutoit and the RPO are joined by star Russian pianist Denis Matsuev for Rachmaninov’s popular Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor, still associated with the classic film Brief Encounter and buttoned-up English emotions. Matsuev usually offers expansive playing and grand, dramatic phrasing in this concerto, which can thrill audiences.
Another favourite symphony ends the RPO’s second concert, “New Sounds from the New World”. Dvořák’s Ninth, known as the “New World” Symphony and often said to make use of traditional African-American spirituals. The full title of the symphony, though, is “From the New World” and the work is infused with Dvořák’s longing for his Bohemian homeland. Sarah Chang, one of tne of the world’s great violinists, joins the orchestra for a performance of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, appropiately in the composer’s 150th anniversary year. It makes huge technical demands of the soloist and also features the orchestra prominently in developing themes. The finale, in particular, is great fun, described by Donald Tovey as a "polonaise for polar bears".