Classical Reviews
BBC Proms live online: Grosvenor, Evans, Philharmonia, Järvi review – energy and sparkleThursday, 10 September 2020
Unlike the other two Proms I’ve reviewed this season, last night’s by the Philharmonia did not have any bells and whistles when it came to the staging, nor did it explore the edges of the repertoire. Read more... |
BBC Proms live online: Romaniw, BBCNOW, Bancroft - creating 'hwyl' with no audienceWednesday, 09 September 2020
I’ve been missing the sound of applause. That realisation dawned on me on the couple of occasions when it broke out spontaneously in last night’s Prom. There was no audience at Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff Bay, so these particular bouts of hand-clapping were coming from the orchestral musicians of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Read more... |
Aurora Orchestra, Collon, West Handyside Canopy review – energy blasts outside Kings Cross WaitroseTuesday, 08 September 2020
Blessed are the players and musical organisations who adapt and innovate, for they shall inhabit the post-lockdown landscape. And while we appreciate the difficulties any orchestra faces in terms of re-opening logistics and costs, livestreams have their limit. Read more... |
CBSO 100th Birthday Celebration online review - top musicians let down by sound and visualsTuesday, 08 September 2020
Let’s start by echoing Simon Rattle’s sense of “how lucky we are”, in our case to be able to share with a 75-piece City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra its centenary to the very day, and celebrate the programme, the performers, the front man too (that superlative actor Adrian Lester, born in Birmingham to Jamaican immigrants). Read more... |
BBC Proms live online: Hough, BBC Scottish SO, Chauhan review - sombre reflections on lockdownMonday, 07 September 2020
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s Prom was a sombre contribution to an otherwise upbeat season. The mood was reflective – looking back on lockdown. The concert was given at City Halls, Glasgow, where the privations of social distancing were also more keenly felt than in the Albert Hall. Read more... |
BBC Proms live online: Benedetti, OAE, Cohen review – double helpings of Baroque zestFriday, 04 September 2020
In a year of absences and separations, here was another one we had to bear. Read more... |
BBC Proms live online: London Sinfonietta, Paterson review – varied perspectives on city lifeWednesday, 02 September 2020
In reviewing Sunday night’s LSO Prom I was impressed by the innovative and exciting programming and that was also a hallmark of Tuesday’s Prom, although this was more true to form for the London Sinfonietta. Read more... |
Doric Quartet, Bandstand Chamber Festival, Battersea Park review – radiance on a late summer eveningWednesday, 02 September 2020
Wonderful as the livestreamed Proms are for players working together again and for viewers/listeners who wouldn’t be able to get to the Royal Albert Hall even if they could be admitted, I’d sacrifice them all for one evening of live musical communication like this. Read more... |
BBC Proms live online: Viennese Night review - sophisticated pleasuresTuesday, 01 September 2020
Viennese operetta is like that other great Central European treat, goulash. It comes in many forms. In Vienna it’s coffeehouse comfort food; in Slovenia they add bacon for a smoky tang. And in the marketplaces of Transylvania it comes in bubbling iron cauldrons, practically fluorescent with paprika. But it’s all goulash. You know it when you taste it, and all that matters is that it tastes good. |
BBC Proms live online: Uchida, LSO, Rattle review – eclectic concert makes good TVMonday, 31 August 2020
Sunday night’s Prom by the London Symphony Orchestra was Simon Rattle’s 75th and surely his strangest. Read more... |
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