Classical Reviews
Turangalîla, Wang, Millar, Simón Bolívar SO, Dudamel, RFHSunday, 17 January 2016
Before this concert I had never seen Gustavo Dudamel conduct, and after it I still haven’t. Because of the alignment of my seat and the piano lid, all I saw of the Venezuelan maestro was the occasional glimpse of baton or dark curly hair. So this review will not take account of any podium flamboyance there may or may not have been: my response is purely to the end result. And that end result was good, but short of great. Read more... |
Mozart's Piano 1, Butt, Aurora Orchestra, Kings PlaceSunday, 17 January 2016
One down, 26 to go. “Mozart's Piano” is a series of concerts by the Aurora Orchestra at Kings Place, based around a complete cycle of Mozart's piano concertos. It started last night, and will reach its conclusion in 2020. Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Feldman, Nielsen, ScriabinSaturday, 16 January 2016
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Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, Dudamel, RFHFriday, 15 January 2016
So much black and red ink has been spilled about the infamous 1913 premiere of The Rite of Spring that it’s easy to underestimate how radical the orchestration, at least, of its predecessor Petrushka must have sounded. It still usually comes up as fresh as poster paint. Read more... |
Kavakos, Bullock, LSO, Rattle, BarbicanThursday, 14 January 2016
If the London Symphony Orchestra sounded simply magnificent in this programme of 20th century French music, it was their restraint that caught the ear rather than the demonstration of an orchestral engine at full throttle for which they are justly renowned. Read more... |
Watkins, BBCSO, Bychkov, BarbicanWednesday, 13 January 2016
We don’t often hear Semyon Bychkov in the core Austro-German repertoire. That’s a great shame, because the qualities that make his Russian music performances so special are just as valuable here: the dynamism and immediacy, the supple but propulsive phrasing, and, above all, the firm, guiding hand, exerting control without imposing restraint. Read more... |
Rana, CBSO, Gražinytė-Tyla, Symphony Hall BirminghamMonday, 11 January 2016
As pianist Beatrice Rana ran up the final bars of Schumann’s Piano Concerto, the conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla turned to her soloist and simply beamed. As well she might. Rana is an artist whose advance publicity belies the seriousness and selflessness of her playing. Read more... |
Cesari, BBCSSO, Pintscher, City Halls, GlasgowSunday, 10 January 2016
Forget your celebratory Messiahs and your crowd-pleasing Strauss galas. Instead of easing listeners gently into 2016 with conventional New Year fare, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra went for the shock approach in its 2016 opening concert: non-stop, back-to-back, uncompromising contemporary music. And it felt like a marvellously bracing, ear-cleansing, provocative way to kick off the year’s concerts. Read more... |
Goyescas, Khamis, Houston, National GallerySaturday, 09 January 2016
"I fell in love with the psychology of Goya and his palette,” wrote brilliant composer-pianist Enrique Granados at the beginning of an evocative paean prefacing his six original Goyescas of 1909-11, finely-wrought gems of the piano repertoire. In love, too, are most of us who have gaped with awe at the astonishing range and careful selection of portraits in the current National Gallery exhibition - one of its best ever, equal in revelation to the recent Rembrandt spectacular. Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Elgar, Silvestrov, Hideko UdagawaSaturday, 09 January 2016
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Feldman: For Bunita Marcus Ivan Ilić (piano) (Paraty)
Elgar: Sea Pictures, Polonia, Pomp and Circumstance Marches 1-5 Alice Coote, Hallé/Sir Mark Elder (Hallé)Pages
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