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Beethoven’s 5th Symphony in drive-in at Montreal airport

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Montreal (AFP)

More than 500 cars parked in the parking lot of an international airport to listen to Beethoven, Ravel and Mozart between two takeoffs and while respecting the distance: the Montreal Symphony Orchestra gave Wednesday a unique concert in many respects.

“In my normal life, I mainly spend my time either in front of an orchestra or in an airport. So there, we combined the two, it’s a bit special”, jokes the Quebec conductor Jacques Lacombe, questioned by the ‘AFP shortly before the performance.

The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) has a habit of playing outdoors every summer, in parks, in retirement homes or even at the Olympic stadium.

But next to an airport, facing a tide of windshields? “This is a first in my career”, admits the musician, who directs the symphony orchestra of Mulhouse, in eastern France, and regularly collaborates with that of Montreal.

The OSM, one of the two great symphonic formations of the Quebec metropolis with the Orchester métropolitain, had not performed in public since March.

So for this eagerly awaited reunion with its audience, the drive-in formula was chosen, a first in Canada and probably in North America at this level, according to the formation.

In fact, there is something unreal about the scene: more than 520 cars carefully spaced, headlights off, in a huge parking lot at Pierre-Elliott Trudeau Airport, turned towards a small stage on which some fifty musicians, themselves at a good distance from each other.

– “We miss beauty” –

Their performance is broadcast on a dedicated FM channel, allowing motorists to listen to the concert on their car radio. Two giant screens are placed on either side of the parking lot. The honking of the horn and the flashing of the headlights serves as applause.

Every now and then, an airliner takes off above the stage, drowning in its din an aria from Mozart’s Magic Flute, or the opening notes of the delicate adagio from Beethoven’s 5th Symphony.

Most of the spectators interviewed by AFP did not care. They listen to the concert with the windows closed.

“Airplanes are wow, it’s perfect,” enthuses Michèle Lesieur, a Montreal nurse who came to live an extraordinary experience, including planes.

His last concert dates back to the beginning of the year. “I missed that a lot,” said this former classical dancer. “Beauty is missing right now.”

Only downside: a large SUV is planted in front of his little Toyota, in the “rich section”, closer to the stage. “If I had known, I would have paid a little more,” she laughs.

Tickets sold for between 100 and 500 Canadian dollars (62 to 310 euros) per car. The price of a “unique” experience and the opportunity to replenish the funds of an orchestra which has seen dozens of concerts canceled since the start of the pandemic.

– “Message of hope” –

Yuni Lavoie, a 20-year-old student, and three of her friends opted for the cheapest option. Their car is parked in the very last row. “We don’t see the scene at all (…) so it’s a bit average”, admits the young music lover.

But at this price, she did not expect a miracle. “We’re going to listen with the car radio, it’s going to be fun”.

A few hundred meters in front of her, in the first row, at the foot of the stage, Rachel and Roger Bisson have a breathtaking view. A gift from their children for their 60th wedding anniversary, she explains. “One is happy!”

The conductor Jacques Lacombe emphasizes for his part the “metaphorical” side of Beethoven’s 5th symphony in the period of Covid-19. Particularly in Montreal, the most affected Canadian city.

“It is a symphony where man fights against his destiny, it begins in turmoil and oppression and ends with a kind of liberation, jubilation and victory,” he analyzes.

“I hope that this evening’s message is a message of hope, that we will return to a certain normality.”

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