BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marc Minkowski, Barbican | reviews, news & interviews
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marc Minkowski, Barbican
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marc Minkowski, Barbican
Smashing performance of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater in his anniversary year
Monday, 08 March 2010
Pergolesi: 'We know that a member of the audience struck Pergolesi's head with an orange at the premiere of the opera L’Olimpiade.'
It always repays to push a world-class orchestra beyond their comfort zone. The BBC Symphony's sound emerged from the refashioning hands of period specialist Marc Minkowski like a naked body from a cold shower: convulsively invigorated and invigorating all those that knocked into it. It was a joy to hear: the best, most intriguing period-playing I've heard for quite a while. For sure the orchestra were more comfortable in Stravinsky's Pulcinella, which went off like a spinning jenny, but the sounds Minkowski managed to elicit from the players in Pergolesi's Stabat Mater chilled the blood. More on all that later.
It always repays to push a world-class orchestra beyond their comfort zone. The BBC Symphony's sound emerged from the refashioning hands of period specialist Marc Minkowski like a naked body from a cold shower: convulsively invigorated and invigorating all those that knocked into it. It was a joy to hear: the best, most intriguing period-playing I've heard for quite a while. For sure the orchestra were more comfortable in Stravinsky's Pulcinella, which went off like a spinning jenny, but the sounds Minkowski managed to elicit from the players in Pergolesi's Stabat Mater chilled the blood. More on all that later.
Add comment
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Classical music
Kolesnikov, Hallé, Elts, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - the dude who dazzles
Fun French music forms a foil to naked, virtuoso pianism
Fauré Centenary Concert 5, Wigmore Hall review - a final flight
The master of levitation in transcendent performances from Steven Isserlis and friends
Ohlsson, BBC Philharmonic, Storgårds, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - grace and power in Brahms
A time-travelling journey through the Austro-German Romantic tradition
Fauré Centenary Concert 1, Wigmore Hall review - Isserlis and friends soar
Saint-Saëns is no also-ran in the opening event of a wondrous homage
'His ideal worlds embraced me with their light and love': violinist Irène Duval on the music of Fauré
On the centenary of the great French composer's death, a fine interpreter pays homage
Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, La Nuova Musica, Bates, Wigmore Hall review - thrilling Handel at full throttle
Vibrant rendering filled with passion and delight
Hallé, Wong, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - Bruckner’s Ninth completed
Kahchun Wong takes Manchester audience on an epic journey
The Orchestral Forest, Smith Square Hall review - living the orchestra from the inside
Immersive concert explores the plight of the British rainforest through music
Classical CDs: Leaves, prisms and sub-bass
A great pianist bows out, plus two cello discs and a new organ's first outing
First Person: Bob Riley on Manchester Camerata's championship of a Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia
Making a difference out of the musical ghetto
Aurora Orchestra, Collon, Drumsheds review - surround-sound magic in the super-club
On a vast dancefloor, the chance to listen from inside the orchestra
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, Wigmore Hall review - warm and colourful Bartók and Brahms
Versatile chamber ensemble excels in clarinet-focused repertoire
Comments
...