Classical Reviews
Balsom, CBSO, Gražinytė-Tyla, Symphony Hall Birmingham review - made in BrumThursday, 03 October 2019
There’s nothing like practising what you preach. “I say straight out that I regard all so-called 12-tone music, so-called serial music, so-called electronic music and so-called avant-garde music as utter rubbish, and indeed a deliberate conning of the public” said the composer Ruth Gipps to her biographer Jill Halstead. Read more... |
Tetzlaff, Nelsen, Philharmonia, Salonen, RFH review - spider's webs and silk sheetsMonday, 30 September 2019
You can't expect a full house when the only work approaching a repertoire staple on your programme is Berg's Lulu Suite. Read more... |
Dickson, Brautigam, Aurora Orchestra, Collon, Kings Place review - disappointing Mozart concertoMonday, 30 September 2019
Kings Place Hall One is a slightly strange venue, its small stage size seeming out of proportion for the dimensions of the room. It means only a chamber orchestra can fit on stage – and even then they often look uncomfortably squashed, especially with a piano for company. Read more... |
Fischer, LPO, Jurowski, RFH review - total focus in shattering threnodiesSaturday, 28 September 2019
Throughout his 11 years as Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra to date, Vladimir Jurowski has focused on two elements, programme-wise: tellingly-linked concerts of the rich and rare, and fine-tuned interpretations of the repertoire's cornerstones over the seasons. Read more... |
Tetzlaff, Philharmonia, Salonen, RFH review - glories of the Weimar eraFriday, 27 September 2019
The mid-1930s, when the Nazi government replaced the Weimar republic, was a bleak time for the composers featured in last night’s Philharmonia concert. Arnold Schoenberg was the first to leave for the US, followed by Paul Hindemith in 1938. Read more... |
Bavouzet, Manchester Camerata, Takács-Nagy, Stoller Hall, Manchester, review - concertos as operaThursday, 26 September 2019
Manchester Camerata’s series of in-concert recordings featuring Mozart piano concertos with Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is well under way now, and this programme, like others before it, included a couple of his opera... Read more... |
Ólafsson, Hallé, Mäkelä, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - exciting new facesFriday, 20 September 2019
The Hallé Orchestra has a good track record when it comes to bringing in young talents with exciting prospects, and its 2019-20 season begins with the newly appointed Finnish chief conductor designate of the Oslo Philharmonic, Klaus Mäkelä, on the rostrum, and the young Icelander Víkungur Ólafsson as solo pianist. Read more... |
Kolesnikov, Britten-Shostakovich Festival Orchestra, Latham-Koenig, Symphony Hall, Birmingham review - cross-country friendships flourishThursday, 19 September 2019
Celebrating the friendship between the two great 20th-century composers, the Britten-Shostakovich Festival Orchestra launched this year. Read more... |
Beethoven Festival Weekend, Wigmore Hall review 1 - sparkle and charisma versus creative overkillMonday, 16 September 2019
While the Proms were ringing out the old season, the Wigmore Hall ushered in the big celebration of 2020: the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth. Read more... |
Beethoven Festival Weekend, Wigmore Hall review 2 - total mastery in tone and depthMonday, 16 September 2019
Any festival would be proud and honoured to end with the great Elisabeth Leonskaja playing the last three Beethoven piano sonatas. Here the Everest was swiftly scaled as the tenth concert of a packed Wigmore Hall weekend. Read more... |
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