SIBUSISO KOTELO 01

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The Birthday of Prince Alexander of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Prince Alexander of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Photograph (c) Prince Andreas of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Today, Prince Alexander of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha celebrates his forty-second birthday.

Prince Andreas and Princess Carin with their children Stephanie, Hubertus, and Alexander

HH Prince Alexander Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was born at Coburg on 4 May 1977 as the second son and third child of Prince Andreas (b.1943), Head of House Saxe-Coburg and Gotha since 1998, and his wife Princess Carin (b.1946; née Dabelstein), who wed in 1971. Alexander joined two older siblings, Princess Stephanie (b.1972) and Hereditary Prince Hubertus (b.1975).

A 2004 portrait of Prince Alexander by artist Hans Christian Ribbe
Photograph (c) Hans Christian Ribbe

Alexander studied forestry and was involved in the work of the family's property at Callenberg. His father, Prince Andreas, then suggested that Alexander should look after Greinburg Castle, at Grein, Austria, and its surroundings. For some years now, the prince has been committed to overseeing the administration of this property and its resources.

Eurohistory wishes Prince Alexander a very Happy Birthday. Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!

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Watch the Funeral of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg

The full film of the funeral of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg may be viewed at the link below.

Aged ninety-eight, the grand duke died on 23 April surrounded by his family. The celebration of his live was in the same vein: the children, grandchildren, and at least one great-grandchild of Grand Duke Jean were present at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg today to bid adieu to their "Papa" and "Apapa." 

A full guest list was released by the Grand Ducal Court. Members of royal houses around the world gathered with his family and members of the Luxembourgish public to mourn and commemorate the life of the well-loved grand duke. For the comprehensive guest list, please visit this link at Luxarazzi: Who Will Attend: The Official Guest List for the Funeral of Grand Duke Jean

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Concern About The Health of Princess Margarita of Romania

Princess Margarita and her husband Radu attend the Silver Wedding celebrations of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg in 2006

Princess Margarita with her husband Radu when he announced his 2009 bid for the Romanian presidency

Margarita and Radu attend the wedding celebrations for Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in 2010

For some years, the Romanian press has published reports that Princess Margarita, the eldest daughter of King Michael and Queen Anne, is dealing with ill health.

Princess Margarita with her husband at Otopeni Airport as they awaited the coffin of His Majesty

The first articles appeared during the period when the Romanian royal family was reeling from the loss of King Michael of Romania, who died on 5 December 2017 in Switzerland. His Majesty's funeral was held in his country later that month. The royal family observed an extended period of mourning.

One news outlet carried the following article in December 2017 regarding the health of the princess:

After her mother's death, last year [in 2016], many reported that Princess Margarita was transformed by suffering. However, no one suspected that the situation was a serious one. 

Her appearances in public a few days later also did not allow the suffering of the princess to be seen. 

But on Wednesday morning at Otopeni Airport, when the entire Royal Family was waiting for the arrival of the aircraft that brought the coffin to King Michael's body, the princess gave evidence that she did not feel well. 

Then, at some point, she even sat down in her assigned chair, and then had to ask for help from Prince Radu when she needed to either stand up again or sit down. During the ceremony at the airport, the princess grasped her husband's hand repeatedly. 

This is not the first time that Princess Margarita, [then] 68, shows signs of malady. Last year, shortly after her mother's death, the weakened princess, drawn in the face and pale, shocked many people at her appearance in the church in Săvârșin, where a service was held in memory of Queen Anne.

Link: Principesa Margareta, bolnava? Ce au sesizat cei care au urmarit imaginile de la funeraliile Regelui Mihai

Princess Margarita is assisted by her husband and an aide after leaving the Caraiman event in 2018

In September 2018, reports about the royal's condition again surfaced when Margarita fell ill while attending the 90th anniversary of the construction of the Heroes' Cross at Caraiman:

Princess Margarita, Crown Custodian, who walked on Saturday at the Cross of Caraiaman, felt badly during the ceremonies organised on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the inauguration of the royal monument with the support of the Royal House. She did not require medical care afterwards. 

Princess Margarita was one of the participants at Saturday's Caraiman ceremony, located at almost 2,300 meters altitude. Local sources told News.ro that Margarita felt poorly during the ceremony after she had walked along a path to climb to the Caraiman Cross. 

"It's a long, tiring road that many people cannot walk through without difficulty. It is worth appreciating the effort of the princess and the fact that she went up there," Gheorghe Haiduc told News.ro.

Link: Principesei Margareta i s-a făcut rău după ce a urcat până la Crucea Caraiman

Princess Margarita with her youngest sister and goddaughter Princess Marie in 2016

Closer to home, more immediate worries about the wellbeing of Princess Margarita were expressed by her sister Princess Marie when she took to social media in February 2017. 

At that time, Marie of Romania stated that a family member had undergone the Whipple procedure (also known as a pancreaticoduodenectomy). According to the Mayo Clinic:

The Whipple procedure is a complex operation to remove the head of the pancreas, the first part of the small intestine (duodenum), the gallbladder and the bile duct. 

The Whipple procedure is used to treat tumors and other disorders of the pancreas, intestine and bile duct. It is the most often used surgery to treat pancreatic cancer that's confined to the head of the pancreas. After performing the Whipple procedure, your surgeon reconnects the remaining organs to allow you to digest food normally after surgery.

The Whipple procedure is a difficult and demanding operation and can have serious risks. However, this surgery is often lifesaving, particularly for people with cancer.

Link: Whipple procedure

Princess Margarita became a Swiss citizen during a naturalisation ceremony at Lausanne in June 2017. The princess was born at Lausanne on 26 March 1949 - she celebrated her seventieth birthday this year. Margarita is the only one of her siblings to become a Swiss citizen; she would thus be able to benefit from the country's universal healthcare system. In addition, the princess likely has resources that would allow her to receive the very best medical treatment.

Link: Une altesse royale parmi les naturalisés à Lausanne

Princess Margarita at an event for the Romanian Red Cross in 2015

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The Queen Will Attend Lady Gabriella Windsor's Wedding

Lady Gabriella Windsor and Mr Thomas Kingston

Today, 3 May, Buckingham Palace issued the following statement:

The wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Mr Thomas Kingston will take place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on Saturday 18th May 2019. The wedding will be attended by Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by Members of the Royal Family. The marriage ceremony will commence at 12pm, conducted by the Dean of Windsor, The Right Revd David Conner.

Her Majesty's presence at Lady Gabriella's wedding will make the marriage's guest list grander than those of her parents Prince and Princess Michael of Kent as well as of her brother and sister-in-law Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent at their civil wedding in 1978

On 30 June 1978, Prince Michael of Kent married Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz in a civil ceremony at Vienna. The couple were joined in the celebration of their union by the siblings of the prince: the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy, with her husband Sir Angus Ogilvy. Also present was Lady Helen Windsor, the Duke of Kent's daughter, in addition to Princess Anne (eventual Princess Royal) and Lord Mountbatten of Burma. 

Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor with the groom's family after their marriage

Fast forward forty-one years to the wedding of Lord Frederick Windsor. The eldest child of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent married Miss Sophie Winkleman on 12 September 2009 at Hampton Court. Lord and Lady Frederick's wedding was attended by the Duke and Duchess of Kent, their daughter Lady Helen Windsor, and Princess Eugenie of York. 

With the knowledge that the Queen is coming, it is clear that Lady Gabriella Windsor and Mr Thomas Kingston will have the highest royal representation at their upcoming wedding. The couple's engagement was announced in September 2018. 

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Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major – Alice Sara Ott, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali (HD 1080p)

Accompanied by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the talented Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, the German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott, one of the most requested artists at the classical music scene, performs Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major. Recorded at Gothenburg Concert Hall, on February 13, 2019.

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The Piano Concerto in G major was a long time in the making. Ravel started thinking about it in 1928 (cf. his visit to Oxford) after his return from America; he took it up again in 1929, but then broke off to write the Concerto for the left hand, then continued with in 1930, and completed it in 1931.

For a long time Ravel declared his intention to perform the work himself and to undertake a world tour with it. But in recognition of his diminishing health and his technical limitations as a pianist, he handed over the role of soloist to Marguerite Long (November 13, 1874 - February 13, 1966), the French pianist and teacher, to whom the work is dedicated. Together they gave the first performance at the Salle Pleyel in Paris on January 14, 1932.

The Concerto observes traditional 3-movement form, albeit with great contrasts of style between movements and indeed within them.

Allegramente: The first movement opens with a single whip-crack, and what follows can be described as a blend of the Basque and Spanish sounds of Ravel's youth and the newer jazz styles he had become so fond of. Like many other concerti, the opening movement is written in the standard sonata-allegro form, but with considerably more emphasis placed on the exposition.

Adagio assai: In stark contrast to the preceding movement, the second movement is a tranquil subject of Mozartian serenity written in ternary form (sometimes called song form, it is a three-part musical form where the first section (A) is repeated after the second section (B) ends. It is usually schematized as A-B-A.

Presto: The third movement recalls the intensity of the first with its quick melodies and difficult passage-work. Possibly due to its short length, the third movement is often repeated by the orchestra and soloist as an "encore" after the concerto.

Source: andantemoderato.com



Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

♪ Piano Concerto in G major (1931)

i. Allegramente
ii. Adagio assai
iii. Presto


Encore:

Erik Satie (1866-1925)

♪ Gnossienne No.3 (1889-1890)


Alice Sara Ott, piano

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Santtu-Matias Rouvali

Gothenburg Concert Hall, February 13, 2019

(HD 1080p)

The 2018-2019 season marks a significant year for German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott (b. 1988, Munich, Germany), one of the world's most in-demand classical pianists. She releases her latest album, Nightfall, featuring works by Satie, Debussy and Ravel, including Gaspard de la Nuit, one of the greatest challenges of piano literature. The album marks ten years since Alice has been signed as an exclusive recording artist to Deutsche Grammophon. She will tour the recital programme across the world, with European dates including Paris' La Seine Musicale, Stuttgart's Liederhalle, Vienna's Mozart Saal, Munich's Prinzregententheater, Baden Baden's Festspielhaus, London's Wigmore Hall and the Klavier-Festival Ruhr in Duisburg. These European dates are in addition to a nine-date recital tour across Japan, including Tokyo Opera City, in autumn 2018.

With her talent not limited to a global career as a high level performing artist, Alice Sara Ott also expresses her diverse creativity through a number of design and brand partnerships beyond the borders of classical music. She was personally requested to design a signature line of high-end leather bags for JOST, one of Germany's premium brands. Alice has also been global brand ambassador for Technics, the hi-fi audio brand of Panasonic Corporation, and she has an ongoing collaboration with the French luxury jewellery house, Chaumet.

A prominent figure on the international classical music scene, Alice Sara Ott regularly performs with the world's leading conductors and orchestras. In 2018-2019 as well as the international Nightfall recital tour, Alice will perform with NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo (Gianandrea Noseda), Philharmonia Orchestra (Santtu-Matias Rouvali), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic (Edward Gardner), London Symphony Orchestra (Elim Chan), St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (Yuri Temirkanov), and for a European tour with Gothenburg Symphony (Santtu-Matias Rouvali). She continues her collaboration with London Symphony Orchestra via her chamber music residency at LSO St Luke's, where she will give several Alice and Friends concerts with fellow artists including Ray Chen, Pablo Ferrández, Nemanja Radulovic, Alexey Stadler, Dimitri Ashkenazy and Francesco Tristano.

Alice Sara Ott has worked with conductors at the highest level including Lorin Maazel, Gustavo Dudamel, Pablo Heras-Casado, Paavo Järvi, Neeme Järvi, Sir Antonio Pappano, Gianandrea Noseda, Andres Orozco-Estrada, Yuri Temirkanov, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sakari Oramo, Osmo Vänskä, Vasily Petrenko, Myung-Whun Chung, Hannu Lintu and Robin Ticciati. She continues to perform with ensembles such as Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Washington's National Symphony Orchestra, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Wiener Symphoniker and Dresdner Philharmonie.

Source: alicesaraott.com

Hailed by The Guardian as ​"the latest sit-up-and-listen talent to emerge from the great Finnish conducting tradition", the 2018-2019 season will see Santtu-Matias Rouvali (b. 1985) continuing his positions as Chief Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony and Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra, alongside his longstanding Chief Conductor-ship with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra close to his home in Finland.

Rouvali has regular relationships with several orchestras across Europe, including the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. As well as making his debut with the Münchner Philharmoniker this season, he also returns to North America for concerts with the Minnesota Orchestra and Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Following a very successful Nordic tour with Hélène Grimaud last season, the Gothenburg Symphony is back on the road in February 2019 for a tour hitting major centres in Germany and Austria with pianist Alice Sara Ott, and percussionist Martin Grubinger who premieres a new percussion concert by Daníel Bjarnason. Rouvali looks forward to other ambitious touring projects with his orchestras in the future, including appearances in North America and Japan.

In addition to the extensive tour, Rouvali's season in Gothenburg opens with Strauss' Alpine Symphony accompanied by Víkingur Ólafsson Mozart Piano Concerto No.24, and he looks forward to collaborations with Janine Jansen, Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Baiba Skride throughout the rest of the season.

As another cornerstone to his tenure in Gothenburg, he is adding his mark to the Orchestra's impressive recording legacy. In partnership with Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra and violinist Baiba Skride, a recording featuring concertos from Bernstein, Korngold and Rozsa is released in autumn 2018. This continues his great collaboration with Baiba Skride following their hugely successful recording of Nielsen and Sibelius' violin concertos with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra in summer 2015.

Rouvali has been Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra since 2013. Highlights of the tenure so far include a Sibelius symphony cycle in autumn 2015, and the Orchestra's first tour to Japan in spring 2017 where they were accompanied by an exhibition of original Moomin drawings by Tove Jansson to mark the opening of the new museum at the Tampere Hall. He opens the 2018-2019 season with a Beethoven programme with pianist Javier Perianes.

Alongside an extremely busy symphonic conducting career, as Chief Conductor in Tampere he has conducted Verdi's La forza del destino and most recently world premiere of Olli Kortekangas's My Brother's Keeper (Veljeni vartija) with Tampere Opera in spring 2018.

Source: harrisonparrott.com

More photos


See also

Alice Sara Ott – All the posts

Santtu-Matias Rouvali – All the posts

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra – All the posts

Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major – Hélène Grimaud, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Lionel Bringuier (HD 1080p)

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