Classical Reviews
Donohoe, LPO, Orozco-Estrada, RFH review – wit aplenty in rare StravinskyThursday, 22 March 2018
I left this concert a bit depressed, but not because of anything I heard: rather, by the conservatism of London concert-goers. As London orchestras focus on programming the usual wall-to-wall Brahms, Beethoven and Mahler, the LPO was rewarded for their excursion from the well-trodden path by the punters staying away in droves from this imaginative programme. Read more... |
Faust, LSO, Gardiner, Barbican review - Schumann as never beforeFriday, 16 March 2018
When a great musician pulls out of a concerto appearance, you're usually lucky if a relative unknown creates a replacement sensation. In this case not one but two star pianists withdrew – Maria João Pires, scheduling early retirement, succeeded by an unwell Piotr Anderzewski – and instead we had that most musicianly and collaborative of violinists Isabelle Faust in Schumann, not the scheduled Mozart. Read more... |
Ruthless Jabiru, King's College London / Arditti Quartet, Wigmore Hall review - delicate, dedicated modernismTuesday, 13 March 2018
Ruthless Jabiru is an all-Australian chamber orchestra based in London. It is the brainchild of conductor Kelly Lovelady, who in recent years has geared the ensemble towards political and environmental concerns. Previous projects have highlighted environmental damage in central Australia and the campaign to end sponsorship by oil companies in the arts sector. Read more... |
Hallenberg, LSO, Gardiner, Barbican review - palpitating Schumann and BerliozMonday, 12 March 2018
Violins, violas, wind and brass all standing for Schumann: gimmick or gain? Read more... |
Sonoro, Ferris, St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate review - intriguingly programmed launch concertWednesday, 07 March 2018
Launched into an already crowded choral scene in 2016, the professional choir Sonoro has marked its second birthday with the release of a debut CD. Last night was the launch concert, featuring items selected from the disc. On the evidence of both CD and concert Sonoro is a very welcome new addition to the roster of excellent London choirs, with its own distinct sound and ethos. Read more... |
Goode, BBC Philharmonic, Gernon, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review – making beautiful musicMonday, 05 March 2018
Just over a year since his Bridgewater Hall début, Ben Gernon appeared with the BBC Philharmonic there again – this time well into his role as their Principal Guest Conductor, yet his first concert with them there since officially taking up the position. Read more... |
Brantelid, LPO, Petrenko, RFH review - orchestral excesses redeemed by graceful ElgarSaturday, 24 February 2018
The London Philharmonic, conductor Vasily Petrenko and cellist Andreas Brantelid are just back from a tour of China, so they’ve had plenty of time to get to know each other. That affinity is apparent in the ease with which Petrenko (pictured below by Chris Christodoulou) marshals the orchestral forces, directly transmitting his trademark energy to every section. Read more... |
Explore Ensemble, EXAUDI, St John's Smith Square review - making sense of NonoTuesday, 20 February 2018
This was an evening of silence and shadow, a chill, moonlit meditation, where each sound demanded forensic attention. Enter the world of Luigi Nono and his admirers. Read more... |
Kaufmann, Damrau, Deutsch, Barbican review - bliss, if only you closed your eyesSaturday, 17 February 2018
Schubert’s winter wanderer had Wilhelm Muller to voice his despair, while Schumann’s poet-in-love had Heinrich Heine. The lovers of Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch must make do with only the words of anonymous Italian authors, albeit dressed up for the salon in elegant German translations by Paul Heyse. Read more... |
Weilerstein, Czech Philharmonic, Netopil, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - drama and feelingTuesday, 13 February 2018
The Czech Philharmonic on tour are a familiar sight, and they have built a following appreciative of their particular qualities, since they are an orchestra with a sound of their own – the way European orchestras used to be, in some respects. A distinguished colleague used to call them the bouncing Czechs: I like to think they are like the best of their homeland’s beer: rich, mellow, and full of character and body. Read more... |
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