Kissin, LPO, Neeme Järvi, Royal Festival Hall | reviews, news & interviews
Kissin, LPO, Neeme Järvi, Royal Festival Hall
Kissin, LPO, Neeme Järvi, Royal Festival Hall
Joyous Suk and the best New World ever out-charm a great pianist
Wednesday, 06 October 2010
Neeme Järvi: Easy mastery that lifts the familiarTilt Veermäe; Kissin image below c F Broeder/EMI
"Well, Kissin's the star of the show," opined the fatuous gentleman who rolled in late to my row after the first piece on the programme. Possibly not, I wanted to snap back, in the light of that very fine pianist's current erratic form. But in any case this celebrity-hunter had just missed one of the great conductors working effortless miracles of charm on Josef Suk's Scherzo fantastique, the extended lollipop lilt of which could quickly pall in lesser hands.
"Well, Kissin's the star of the show," opined the fatuous gentleman who rolled in late to my row after the first piece on the programme. Possibly not, I wanted to snap back, in the light of that very fine pianist's current erratic form. But in any case this celebrity-hunter had just missed one of the great conductors working effortless miracles of charm on Josef Suk's Scherzo fantastique, the extended lollipop lilt of which could quickly pall in lesser hands.
He encouraged lower strings to project a jazzy cross-rhythm in the finale of a Dvořák New World I hardly recognised as the Ninth Symphony
Explore topics
Share this article
Add comment
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
Classical CDs: Elephants, clocks and palindromes
A lovable French composer boxed up, plus discs of choral and chamber music
Kanga, Manchester Collective, Singh, RNCM Manchester review - string ensemble playing at its most rewarding
New classics introduced and a world premiere with a dark story
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
Comments
...