Szymczewska, LPO, Vänskä, Royal Festival Hall | reviews, news & interviews
Szymczewska, LPO, Vänskä, Royal Festival Hall
Szymczewska, LPO, Vänskä, Royal Festival Hall
An exciting new advocate for Walton's First Symphony
Thursday, 14 October 2010
Osmo Vänskä: Bristling with nervy anticipation
The flurry of fanfares at the start of Magnus Lindberg’s Al largo (UK premiere) sounded almost Waltonian. Or maybe that was because the prospect of Osmo Vänskä in Walton’s First Symphony was such an enticing one that premonitions of its highly distinctive sound-world were already being suggested in the somewhat predictable pyrotechnics of the Lindberg. Lindberg is a great showman and an accomplished technician, but against Walton’s startling originality (circa 1935) he sounded, well, old hat - like a man rapidly losing his edge.
The flurry of fanfares at the start of Magnus Lindberg’s Al largo (UK premiere) sounded almost Waltonian. Or maybe that was because the prospect of Osmo Vänskä in Walton’s First Symphony was such an enticing one that premonitions of its highly distinctive sound-world were already being suggested in the somewhat predictable pyrotechnics of the Lindberg. Lindberg is a great showman and an accomplished technician, but against Walton’s startling originality (circa 1935) he sounded, well, old hat - like a man rapidly losing his edge.
Temperamentally speaking, this piece always had Vänskä’s name on it. Bringing it to the boil was sport for him
Explore topics
Share this article
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
Hardenberger, BBC Philharmonic, Storgårds, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - splendour and a trumpeter's voluntary
Individuality and discipline in Strauss, Stravinsky, Haydn… and more
First Person: conductor Robert Hollingworth on a four-choir rarity by Benevoli
I Fagiolini join with two other choirs for a spectacular in St Martin-in-the-Fields
BBC Singers, BBCSO, Jeannin, Barbican review - from stormy weather to blue skies
An uplifting centenary party for the great choral survivors
Elisabeth Leonskaja, Wigmore Hall review - a universe of sound and emotion in Schubert’s last three sonatas
Total mastery of epic adventures composed in the face of mortality
Andsnes, London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Gardner, RFH review - total clarity in classic-romantic and prophetic Rachmaninov
Dazzling concerto performance and classy singing in a great choral symphony
Classical CDs: Trills, gavottes and barking dogs
Big boxes celebrating a star soprano and an unsung conductor, plus Norwegian jazz and French baroque music
Hough, Philharmonia, Rouvali, RFH review - where the wild things are
A thrilling journey through the musical North
Hallé, Wong, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - declaration of thrills to come
East meets west in maestro’s opening statement of Britten and Mahler
Natalie Tenenbaum, Oslo Hackney review - shimmering hailstorms of notes
American pianist's UK debut marked by a muscular brilliance and fluid style
Angela Hewitt, Wigmore Hall review - Scarlatti miniatures outshine Brahms behemoth
Two very different types of sonata, with some tasty Bach in between
Pavel Kolesnikov, Wigmore Hall review - unpredictable magic
Chopin, Schubert, and the skull beneath the skin
Lewis, BBC Philharmonic, Storgårds, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - adding the Moon to The Planets
Season opener offers impact in Holst and thoughtfulness in Beethoven
Add comment