Classical Reviews
theartsdesk in Bergen: Questions upon questions at Borealis FestivalTuesday, 14 March 2017
There comes a point in any experimental music festival when you have to accept the silliness and go with it. And at Borealis, that point comes very early. Read more... |
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Young, BarbicanSaturday, 11 March 2017
A new opera from Peter Eötvös is a major event. More than any other composer today, he has the ability to create sophisticated contemporary music that supports and enriches sung drama. Read more... |
Dego, CBSO, Rustioni, Symphony Hall, BirminghamThursday, 09 March 2017
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari has never quite been a one-work composer. No points for knowing the fizzy overture to his delightful 1909 pro-smoking comedy Il segreto di Susanna; quite a few more if you know the whole opera. Read more... |
Tara Erraught, Ulrich Pluta, James Baillieu, Wigmore HallWednesday, 08 March 2017
As a scan through the 17-year list of Rosenblatt Recitals quickly reveals, sopranos and tenors come and (often as not) go. Much rarer is the opportunity to enjoy the gifts of a mezzo-soprano near the start of what should, all things being equal, be a long and illustrious career. Read more... |
NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo, Järvi, RFHTuesday, 07 March 2017
Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics; Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam; NHKSO Tokyo. Would you have thought of putting the Japanese orchestra in the same league as the top Europeans? I certainly wouldn't, at least not until last night. Read more... |
Frank-Gemmill, SCO, Manze, Queen's Hall, EdinburghMonday, 06 March 2017
March 2017 is MacMillan month in Scotland – well, in Glasgow at least, with certain events spilling over into Edinburgh and other cities too. Read more... |
BBC Singers, BBCSO, Oramo, BarbicanSaturday, 04 March 2017
It's official: if you want to be guaranteed an infallible musical adrenalin boost in London, you can always be sure to find it with Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo and his BBC Symphony Orchestra. And it's not just a question of splashy excitement: Oramo is a rigorous rehearser. Read more... |
Bavouzet, Manchester Camerata, Takács-Nagy, RNCM, ManchesterFriday, 03 March 2017
Manchester Camerata give relatively few old-fashioned concerts these days – I mean the sort that are done in purpose-built concert halls, with a conductor, soloist and conventional orchestra strength – because they’re busy crossing boundaries and attracting new audiences. But when they do return to the traditional path, they do it extremely well, and especially when music director Gábor Takács-Nagy is in charge. Read more... |
Mirjam Mesak, Kristiina Rokashevich, St Bartholomew the GreatThursday, 23 February 2017
Treasure our young continental European musicians in London while you can. Only last week I learned that so many of the overseas students at London's Guildhall School had stories to tell about being questioned in public (usually "are you Polish?" with the negative ramifications that implied). Read more... |
Juan Diego Flórez, Vincenzo Scalera, Symphony Hall, BirminghamWednesday, 22 February 2017
“Who says Mozart is not like Rossini?” remarked Juan Diego Flórez, about a quarter of an hour into his debut recital at Symphony Hall. Read more... |
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