Classical Reviews
Sophie Bevan, Philharmonia, Rouvali, RFH review - an Alpine blazeFriday, 07 December 2018
With eyes swivelled towards who'll take over from Esa-Pekka Salonen as the Philharmonia's Principal Conductor in 2021, two of the strongest possibilities are to be found within the orchestra's masthead of associates. Read more... |
Bostridge, Pappano, Barbican review - a tough but thrilling march across the battlefieldThursday, 06 December 2018
Seldom has an encore felt so welcome. With Sir Antonio Pappano as his accompanist at the Barbican, Ian Bostridge tugged us through the mill of industrialised slaughter and the psychic devastation it leaves in an ambitious programme of song sequences that evoked “war, and the pity of war”. Read more... |
Hallé, Elder, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review – three iconic worksFriday, 30 November 2018
At first sight, performing Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring – premiered in 1913 and sometimes seen as presaging the whole world of modernism – in the centenary year of the 1918 Armistice might seem to be lagging behind in timing (if centenaries float your boat). Read more... |
theartsdesk in Warsaw - Penderecki at 85Wednesday, 28 November 2018
Krzysztof Penderecki is the elder statesman of Polish music, and celebrations for his 85th birthday in Warsaw were suitably grand. Read more... |
CBSO, Kremerata Baltica, Gražinytė-Tyla, Symphony Hall, Birmingham review - numb laments and life after deathMonday, 26 November 2018
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's latest dynamo of a music director and communication incarnate, doesn't believe in taking it easy. Read more... |
Iestyn Davies, Aurora Orchestra, Kings Place review - arresting musical miscellanySaturday, 24 November 2018
Not really a song recital, nor a chamber music programme, this musical grab bag definitely was definitely popular. The programme of predominantly recent music was sold out weeks ahead. The notably younger-than-usual audience received it enthusiastically, and rightly so. Read more... |
The English Concert, Bicket, Wigmore Hall review – small-scale BachWednesday, 21 November 2018
It’s Christmas already at Wigmore Hall. Or advent at least – this concert of Bach Advent cantatas was presented by the English Concert without apology or qualification, despite it still being the middle of November. Read more... |
Trpčeski, RLPO, Petrenko, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall review - one composer, many viewsMonday, 19 November 2018
It probably goes without saying that there will be "dream teams" in a football-mad city like Liverpool. What might be a little unusual is that this particular one has long been associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and has turned into one of the most potent marketing forces for the organisation for many a long year. It has nothing to do with the "beautiful game", though. Read more... |
Kolesnikov, BBCSO, Brabbins, Barbican review - rethought masterpiece, stolid rarityFriday, 16 November 2018
Forget the latest International Tchaikovsky Competition winner (I almost have; only a dim memory of Dmitry Masleev's playing the notes in the obligatory First Piano Concerto, and nothing else, remains from an Istanbul performance). Read more... |
Our Classical Century, BBC Four review - enthusiasm and delightFriday, 16 November 2018
Jerusalem! Read more... |
Pages
inside classical music
latest in today
Help to give theartsdesk a future!
It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.
It followed some...
A Real Pain review - Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin take...
Jesse Eisenberg's first film as writer/director...
Blu-ray: The Hop-Pickers
Czech theatre theorist Ivo Osolsobě’s tick-list for what constitutes an "authentic" musical is quoted in this release’s booklet. Namely that the...
Liepe, National Youth Orchestra of Ireland, NCH, Dublin revi...
There’s nothing like an anodyne new(ish) work to give a masterpiece an even higher profile. Rachel Portman‘s Tipping Points, promising to...
Albums of the Year 2024: Chihei Hatakeyama & Shun Ishiwa...
A gem for me this year has been the collaborative project between the veteran minimalist composer Chihei Hatakeyama and jazz...
Music Reissues Weekly: American Baroque - Chamber Pop and Be...
The descending refrain opening the song isn’t unusual but attention is instantly attracted as it’s played on a harpsichord. Equally instantly, an...
Nickel Boys review - a soulful experiment
RaMell Ross’s feature debut follows his poetic documentary Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018) in again observing black...
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, Sky Atlantic review - Colin F...
The destruction of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie on 21 December 1988 was one of the ghastliest events in what would become known as the War on...
Albums of the Year 2024: The Last Dinner Party - Prelude to...
Does absolutely everything have to get more difficult with each passing year? Apparently so. The amount of time I’ve spent deciding which of the...