Carlos Bonell......Queen Guitar Rhapsodies live in Mexico...
The music of super-group Queen played on classical guitar with full symphony orchestra - that is Carlos Bonell's latest album release and it is meeting with universal acclaim. Here is Carlos' own unique behind-the-scenes account of the first live performance of Queen Guitar Rhapsodies.
The first night
After two days of intense rehearsal, the day had come: the première of Queen Guitar Rhapsodies for guitar and orchestra, based on the music of Queen, in Monterrey, Mexico, with the UANL Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Felix Carrasco, with myself as soloist. We had prepared as thoroughly as is possible, taking care of all the details, making sure everything was just right, and paying particular attention to the balance between the guitar and the large orchestra. The orchestra included players of different nationalities, so during the rehearsals the conductor spoke in Spanish, English and German!
During the performance we all concentrated like crazy so that the première went smoothly. Smoothly yes, but maybe our performance in some of the songs didn´t always catch fire since we were so concerned with playing them correctly this first time. But this was just the first night, and there was a second performance to come, which would surprise us all….
The hall on that first night, was large and with good acoustics. It held some 800 people, and the house was nearly full. The programme was billed as RockClassical and also contained some fine orchestral pieces by Mexican arrangers of music by Michael Jackson, Police, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.
We played seven of the Queen Guitar Rhapsodies CD arrangements with orchestra: starting with Play the Game, and finishing on Barcelona. I played two solos: Who Wants to Live Forever before the interval, and afterwards Love of My Life. Then as an encore we did Bohemian Rhapsody, by which time some members of the audience were literally jumping up and down in their seats.
After the première we all went out for supper to a classic Mexican restaurant: Felix Carrasco the conductor; his wife Ingeborg Kofler Lochmann (also the leader of the orchestra); broadcaster Javier Castillo and Silvino Jaramillo a very distinguished musician /conductor /writer /journalist who has been at the forefront of musical developments in Monterrey all his life. Silvino entertained us grandly with his wit and wisdom. He had been a friend of Agustín Lara, composer of Granada as sung by José Carreras.
Silvino said, “ I wrote the music down for him, as I did some of his other songs”.
I asked Silvino: “ If Lara couldn´t read or write music how did he compose?”
“Well, he sung the tunes or played them on the piano”.
I asked Silvino about another celebrated composer of Mexican popular music, José Alfredo Jiménez:
“I know him well, I wrote down some of his songs as well”.
We had a lot of interest from the press, before, during and after the first concert. I was pleased and surprised at how curious they were about a “Classical” artist like me taking an interest in “Rock” music. I explained that I loved the music we were playing, that the important thing is whether music is good or bad, and the differences between Classical and Rock are just a matter of style, not quality.
Rock audience meets Classical
On Sunday 13th at noon we repeated the programme at the Auditorio San Pedro, a 1000-seater in downtown Monterrey. This time the hall was not only full, but overflowing with standing room only. There was an excited buzz infusing the air. Having got the première out of the way without major mishap (every performing artist´s nightmare!) we could now really enjoy ourselves and go for it - and so we did, with the changing light scheme
and smoke effects heightening the mood.
Bear in mind the audience here was packed to the rafters: with families, young couples, classical music enthusiasts and Queen fans. Some wanted to clap along to the well-known tunes, others wanted to listen and “ssshed” for silence! Finally, in We are the Champions, the conductor invited audience participation, conducting and encouraging them to sing ever louder. People waved their arms from side to side, holding mobile phones in the air and singing at the top of their voices in their Mexican-accented English. At the end the audience cheered, leapt to their feet, and stamped and screamed for more, in rock concert style.
We, the musicians had one ace up our sleeve: Bohemian Rhapsody for guitar and orchestra. So, as in the first concert, we played this as the final encore. As I began to play the tune on the guitar after the long introduction from the orchestra, a complete hush and stillness descended on the hall. The atmosphere was electric, even reverential. It was very moving. When the music reached the Galileo section I could feel the audience relax and begin to sway. As the last notes of the music died away, the audience gave a huge cheer and another standing ovation, clamouring for more long after we had left the stage for the last time.
I felt that the orchestra and I had been more relaxed this second time and had really communicated with the audience. All our rehearsal s had finally paid off!
Many people came backstage to talk to us: families with small children, orchestral music fans, Queen fans, guitar enthusiasts, students and regular concert-goers. They all loved the concert.
It was a great occasion, for music lovers of all kinds had celebrated together the experience of this wonderful music by Queen.
Carlos Bonell, 14th September 2009
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