classical music reviews, news & interviews
Bernard Hughes |
Boyd Tonkin |
GOAT claims leave me cold, whether applied to athletes or orchestras. Nonetheless, it seems to matter to many people that the Berliner Philharmoniker be discussed as if they are, or were, or should be, the foremost musical outfit of their age – and perhaps preceding eras too. Let's park the GOAT fetish and consider what a (naturally) sold-out Royal Albert Hall heard last night.
David Nice
Elgar could be self-pitying, but rarely in his music, and least of all in the classically perfect "Enigma" Variations. Despite recent commentators…
David Nice
If you want a full, 5000-strong audience in the Royal Albert Hall, and the second-half work won't sell by itself, insert a popular concerto. It…
George Fu
I am often attracted to certain composers based on their uncompromising nature. Beethoven, Schumann and Boulez, for instance, fascinate me for those…
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Boyd Tonkin
Heavenly sounds in a vintage Berlioz blockbuster
Bernard Hughes
Performances full of character and life – but some balance issues
Graham Rickson
New choral music, French piano miniatures and a phalanx of bassoons
Boyd Tonkin
A luxurious mezzo-led journey across Mahler's soundscape
David Nice
Stupendous Salome flames to the back of the hall
Simon Thompson
Kurtág and Schubert converse across the centuries, Hollywood’s Golden Age dazzles
Bernard Hughes
Lacklustre Copland and messy, misconceived Gershwin outweigh enjoyable Bernstein
Rachel Halliburton
Conductor Jonathon Heyward presided with style and élan over an uplifting programme
Simon Thompson
Arch wit and folksy strangeness from opposite ends of Europe
David Nice
Some mezzo nuances lost, though none from vivid tenor or players
Simon Thompson
Strings with two guest artists, and a tribute to Alfred Brendel
Boyd Tonkin
A virtuoso clarinettist shines between two murder-ballets
David Nice
Spanish cellist's Elgar goes deep, while Walton's Second Symphony glows and throbs
Simon Thompson
Ortiz glitters, Adès grips, Beethoven purrs
David Nice
Despite the mass percussion and four brass bands, the quieter moments register most
Graham Rickson
A pioneering recorder player celebrated, plus baroque bassoons and musical postcards
Simon Thompson
An unforgettable voice, a mythic new song cycle, and Yuja doing jazz
Simon Thompson
Missy Mazzoli’s impressive new opera follows Wynton Marsalis' jazz symphony opening night
Boyd Tonkin
Choral glories led by a dauntless soprano warrior
Boyd Tonkin
A young festival finds music to match a stupendous setting
Boyd Tonkin
Fairies, and ogres, in old favourites, and a rediscovery
Graham Rickson
Czech piano trios, English choral music and an influential wind soloist celebrated
David Nice
Natural scenes with birdsong fill a varied programme
David Nice
The bigger the chorus, the harder to catch the words of great poetry
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