Classical Reviews
Prom 54, Richter, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Fischer review - independent-minded Hungarians returnThursday, 23 August 2018
Two heartening facts first. Iván Fischer's much-loved crew remains one of the few world-class orchestras with an individual voice, centred on lean, athletic strings adaptable to Fischer's febrile focus (perfect for Enescu and Bartók, not quite so much for Mahler). Read more...
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Proms at...Cadogan Hall 6, BBC Singers, Oramo review - excellent choristers need to diversifyTuesday, 21 August 2018
Those of us schooled in the English choral tradition know and love Hubert Parry's "My soul, there is a country", but few have sung or heard it live as the first of a mighty cycle. Parry completed the six Songs of Farewell not long before his death 100 years ago. Read more... |
Prom 45, Capuçon, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Nott - scintillating new era for Swiss magiciansFriday, 17 August 2018
Who is the greatest British conductor in charge of a major orchestra? It's subjective, but my answer is not what you might expect. Jonathan Nott has done all his major work so far on the continent. Read more... |
Prom 44, Gringytė, CBSO, Morlot review - eloquently sculpted Gallic richesThursday, 16 August 2018
This should have been the third much-anticipated Prom of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's inspiring communicator-in-chief Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. She's now on maternity leave. Read more... |
Prom 43, Batiashvili, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Barenboim review – from Russia with loveWednesday, 15 August 2018
The days are long gone when a Proms gig by Daniel Barenboim and his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra felt like a life-changing visitation by a major prophet. Read more... |
Prom 42, Buniatishvili, Estonian Festival Orchestra, Järvi review – bright lights from the NorthTuesday, 14 August 2018
Music-lovers who normally balk at the sight of national colours in a concert hall would surely have forgiven the little Estonian flags – in stripes of blue, black and white – that waved happily at the conclusion of this Prom. Read more... |
Prom 40, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Bell review - tea-time treats with wit and dashMonday, 13 August 2018
When did this weird mix-tape fashion take root at the Proms? Read more... |
Prom 39, West Side Story, Wilson review - best heard on the radioMonday, 13 August 2018
In West Side Story, those great, familiar songs just keep on coming. Already by the end of the first half an hour, there have been “The Jet Song”, “Something’s Coming”, “Maria”, “Tonight” and “America”, and there is no shortage of them still to come. Read more... |
Prom 37, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Pappano review – order, and delight, out of chaosSaturday, 11 August 2018
In the beginning, Sir Antonio Pappano created a little chaos of his own. Read more... |
Edinburgh Festival 2018 review: Zimerman, LSO, Rattle - fizzing chemistrySaturday, 11 August 2018
It was Simon Rattle’s first visit to the Edinburgh International Festival for – well, really quite a few years. And the first of his two concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra drew, perhaps predictably, a capacity crowd in the Usher Hall, for what was in fact quite an odd, uncompromising programme – if one that ultimately delivered magnificently. Read more... |
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