Levon Parikian interview in Classical Music Magazine

Artistic Director Levon Parikian appears in an interview about the Rehearsal Orchestra’s 60th anniversary in the June issue of Classical Music magazine:  

 

"The odd aberration aside, RO has been not giving concerts for 60 years since it was set up by Harry Legge to give amateur musicians visiting the Edinburgh Festival an economical way of using the time between attending concerts.  What it has been doing is assembling several times a year, not only at its residential week in Edinburgh but also for one and two-day courses in London elsewhere, to work on and play through repertoire, with a session open to the public at the end of each course. ‘The idea is always, as Harry used to say, to get through the stuff’ says Lev, who took over the direction of RO from Legge following his death in 2000. ‘ … it covers a very useful niche … for aspiring professionals, and for amateur players who are looking for something a bit more intense and focused than they might get with their regular orchestras, wherever they might be’.  A highlight for Lev? ‘ … doing Turangalila on a weekend was terrifying and amazing: it's 75 minutes long and pretty hard all the way through ...’"