National Orchestra of Myanmar
The National Orchestra of Myanmar ( English Myanmar National Symphony Orchestra ) was founded in 2001, but was only allowed to give three public concerts in the first twelve years of its existence.
history
Plans to establish a symphony orchestra in Myanmar had been around since the early 1960s when a group of musicians were sent to the USSR to study classical music. The plans were not realized for more than four decades until the country's first symphony orchestra was founded in September 2001 with the support of General Khin Nyunt , a high-ranking member of the then ruling military junta SPDC . Its musicians were recruited from the band of the Myanmar State Radio and Television Corporation (MRTV), students from the National University of Arts and Culture, officers from the police band and some foreigners.
In the early years the orchestra struggled to gain a foothold and only practiced temporarily under the direction of an American musician. It wasn't until 2004 that the orchestra gave its first concert in front of exclusively invited guests in MRTV Studio A in Yangon . The first success was short-lived. In October 2004, its patron Khin Nyunt was overthrown and placed under house arrest. Because the orchestra was viewed as a hobbyhorse of Khin Nyunt, it was taboo and was no longer allowed to perform in public. Government officials even went so far as to deny the existence of a national orchestra. The American concertmaster left shortly afterwards. In the following years it was only used for recordings of pop and folk music for state television.
In 2007 there was a new chance when the symphony orchestra was allowed to give its first public concert in front of a group of musicians from Europe after a successful appeal to the government. After intensive rehearsals, the orchestra finally gave its first public concert at the National Theater in Yangon. At first it stayed with this one gig, after which the situation worsened again.
The situation eased in January 2012 when Khin Nyunt was released from house arrest. The government allowed the orchestra to resume its public activities. In July 2012, the orchestra gave two public concerts in Yangon with a standard repertoire of Mozart and Beethoven under the direction of Yoshikazu Fukumura , the former director of the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra . In order to fill in the gaps in its own line-up, the orchestra was able to win some foreign violinists and oboists for the two performances.
Latest activities
The current orchestra consists of around 60 musicians, most of whom are graduates from the National University of Arts and Culture. It is directed by the French composer Odile Perceau .
On December 5 and 6, 2013, the orchestra made its international debut in the Cambodian temple complex of Angkor Wat . The orchestra's string musicians performed there with the French string quartet Le Quatuor Des Equilibres and played contemporary and classical music in a performance by the Royal Ballet of Cambodia.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Zon Pann Pwint: National orchestra seeks wider audience. In: The Myanmar Times . January 28, 2013, accessed February 10, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c d e Takeshi Fujitani: Myanmar national orchestra ready to return to the stage. (No longer available online.) In: Asahi Shimbun . July 9, 2012, archived from the original on December 15, 2013 ; accessed on February 10, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Kyaw Phyo Tha: Burmese Orchestra Joins With French Quartet for Concerts. In: The Irrawaddy . November 14, 2013, accessed February 10, 2015 .
- ^ Cambodian, Myanmar artists to jointly perform at Angkor Wat Temple. (No longer available online.) In: Mizzima News . Xinhua News Agency , Nov. 26, 2013, archived from the original on Dec. 15, 2013 ; accessed on February 10, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Michelle Vachon: Cambodia and Burma to Come Together for Angkor Wat Show. In: The Cambodia Daily . November 27, 2013, accessed February 10, 2015 .
