piano
Ohlsson, BBC Philharmonic, Storgårds, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - grace and power in BrahmsTuesday, 05 November 2024
The BBC Philharmonic were right to bill Garrick Ohlsson, soloist in Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1, as the main attraction in Saturday’s concert.The septuagenarian American is a force of nature and an exceptional artist: his playing of Rachmaninov in... Read more... |
Elisabeth Leonskaja, Wigmore Hall review - a universe of sound and emotion in Schubert’s last three sonatasMonday, 30 September 2024
Wonders never ceased in Elisabeth Leonskaja’s return to the Wigmore Hall. Not only did she play Schubert’s last three sonatas with all repeats and the full range of a unique power undiminished in a 78-year old alongside a never too overstated pathos... Read more... |
Andsnes, London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Gardner, RFH review - total clarity in classic-romantic and prophetic RachmaninovMonday, 30 September 2024
If there was ever a time for the inevitable "Rach Three” (piano concerto, not symphony) in the composer’s 150th anniversary year – and I confess I dodged other occasions – it might as well have come in the fresh and racy shape of Leif Ove... Read more... |
Pavel Kolesnikov, Wigmore Hall review - unpredictable magicTuesday, 24 September 2024
All five finalists in the Leeds International Piano Competition, at which Pavel Kolesnikov was one of the jurors, should have been given tickets, transport and accommodation to hear his Wigmore recital the evening after the prizegiving. Not that... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Bradford - Leeds International Piano Competition 2024 finalists shine in St George's HallMonday, 23 September 2024
How do you make a two-part final featuring five piano concertos work as a couple of totally satisfying programmes? First, give a wide list of concerto options, ask each pianist for two choices, settle on what will make the best contrasts – and then... Read more... |
Bavouzet, Nemecz, McLachlan, Manchester Camerata, Takács-Nagy, Stoller Hall, Manchester review - finish line of a remarkable marathonSaturday, 21 September 2024
“Mozart, made in Manchester”, the project to perform and record an edition of the piano concertos plus all the opera overtures, seemed a distant destination and an unlikely marathon when Manchester Camerata embarked on it eight years ago.But with... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: young pianist Ignas Maknickas on appearing at the Roman River Festival and beyondFriday, 20 September 2024
The high level of entries for this year’s Leeds Piano Competition – 366, almost twice the number who entered in 2018 – is just one reminder that any young pianist wanting to make their name today is negotiating shark-infested waters. Technical... Read more... |
Donohoe, Roscoe, Stoller Hall, Manchester review - two great pianists celebrate 50 yearsTuesday, 17 September 2024
A little piece of musical history was made last night at Manchester Chamber Concerts Society’s season-opening concert. Two of the greatest pianists of their generation, who met at the Royal Northern College of Music, celebrated the 50th anniversary... Read more... |
Wang, Lapwood, LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - grace and power from two keyboard heroinesMonday, 16 September 2024
It takes stiff competition to outshine Yuja Wang, who last night at the Barbican complemented her spangled silver sheath with a disconcerting pair of shades. But the super-heroine pianist, who played Rachmaninov’s First Piano Concerto, turned out to... Read more... |
Beethoven Sonata Cycle 1, Boris Giltburg, Wigmore Hall review - running the gamutMonday, 16 September 2024
A happy, lucid and bright pianist, a forbidding Everest among piano sonatas: would Boris Giltburg follow a bewitching, ceaselessly engaging first half by rising to the challenge of Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” - a title he suggests, in his series of... Read more... |
Album: Joan as Police Woman - Lemons, Limes and OrchidsMonday, 16 September 2024
You don’t need me to tell you that this particular law enforcer has served up yet another meaty helping of genius. It’s what we expect. So here she is, over-delivering again on her 12th album. A salve for the soul, Joan Wasser’s... Read more... |
Album: Snow Patrol - The Forest is the PathThursday, 12 September 2024
Contrary to popular belief, not all music journalists get off on being snide about the same old easy-to-slate bands. When something like this album arrives in my review schedule, my instinct is to seek the good, to stick two fingers up to my... Read more... |
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