Classical Reviews
Alder, Hulett, Classical Opera, Page, Wigmore HallWednesday, 20 January 2016
Unlike Schubert, Mendelssohn and Shostakovich, Mozart composed nothing astoundingly individual before the age of 20. That leaves any odyssey through his oeuvre, year by year – this one will finish in 2041, by which time I’ll be nearly 80 if I live that long – with a problem effectively solved by Ian Page and his Classical Opera in placing works by contemporaries of various ages alongside young Amadeus’s efforts. Read more... |
Mitchell, Atkins, Johnston, Queen's Hall, EdinburghTuesday, 19 January 2016
It was a simple yet beautifully elegant way for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra to kick off its 2016 chamber concerts: a recital for flute, viola and harp, with Debussy’s beguiling Sonata as the centrepiece, and other contrasting music for the same trio orbiting around it. Read more... |
Barenboim 60th Anniversary Concert, Simón Bolívar SO, Dudamel, RFHMonday, 18 January 2016
The memories were flooding back last night. Daniel Barenboim's speech after the concert, lasting about a quarter of an hour, contained vivid recollections of his first appearance on that stage in 1956 as a 13-year-old (playing the Mozart A major Concerto with the RPO and Josef Krips). Read more... |
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... |
Feldman: For Bunita Marcus Ivan Ilić (piano) (Paraty)Pages
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