Classical Reviews

Khatia Buniatishvili, Wigmore Hall/ Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Queen Elizabeth Hall

David Nice Thursday, 08 December 2011

Before his slightly over-extended majesty drops behind a cloud at the end of this bicentenary year, and following Louis Lortie’s light-and-shade monodrama on Sunday, Franz Liszt has moved back to left-of-centre in two ambitious midweek concerts.

Louis Lortie, Wigmore Hall

David Nice Monday, 05 December 2011

It was Chopin time when I last heard Louis Lortie, and a typical London clash of scheduling allowed me to catch his effervescent Op 10 Études before pedalling like crazy north of the river for the second half of Elisabeth Leonskaja’s even bigger all-Chopin programme. Last night Lortie offered a comparably monumental homage to this year's bicentenary birthday boy Liszt in all his Italian-inspired variety, and there was no need to miss, or to wish to miss, a note.

Classical CDs Weekly: Bartók, Tchaikovsky, Edwards, Sibelius, John Wilson

graham Rickson Saturday, 03 December 2011

Bartók: Violin Concerto No 2, Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto Valeriy Sokolov Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich/David Zinman (Virgin)

Trpčeski, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Tognetti, Queen Elizabeth Hall

alexandra Coghlan Wednesday, 30 November 2011

A music broadcaster commented after last night’s concert by the Australian Chamber Orchestra that all the hype, all the talk about the surf-obsessed, free-spirited leader Richard Tognetti, had left her half expecting them to surf onto the stage of the Queen Elizabeth Hall. As they walked on however (decorously, and rather more smartly dressed than most English groups) we were reminded that there’s nothing gimmicky about this ensemble.

Comment

Mutter, London Symphony Orchestra, Gergiev, Barbican Hall

David Nice Monday, 28 November 2011

Praise be, or slava if you prefer, to Valery Gergiev for honouring new Russian music alongside his hallmark interpretations - ever evolving or dangerously volatile according to taste – of Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Stravinsky. Last LSO season featured some of the less than inspired recent works Rodion Shchedrin has been dredging by the yard. Yet few would begrudge the palm of deep and original musical thought to this past week’s heroine, Sofia Gubaidulina.

Classical CDs Weekly: Bach, Beethoven, Simon Keenlyside

graham Rickson Saturday, 26 November 2011

Bach: Complete Keyboard Works Ivo Janssen (Void Classics)

Comment

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker & Jérôme Bel, 3Abschied, Sadler’s Wells

Judith Flanders Tuesday, 22 November 2011

When the subject of funding for the arts arises, the phrase “allowed to fail” is frequently heard: artists must be enabled to try new things, press against the outer edges of what they know. Enter Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Jérôme Bel, two of contemporary dance’s thinkers. They have tried, and failed, to choreograph the final section of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, and in that attempt, they have produced an extraordinary evening: the anatomy of a failure.

Comment

Classical CDs Weekly: Mathias, Sibelius, Duo Gazzana

graham Rickson Saturday, 19 November 2011

William Mathias: Piano Concertos 1 & 2; Vaughan Williams: Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra Mark Bebbington (piano) Ulster Orchestra/George Vass (Somm)

Jansen, London Philharmonic, Vänskä, Royal Festival Hall

Geoff Brown Thursday, 17 November 2011

Noticed that nip in the air recently? The reason now is obvious: conductor Osmo Vänskä, the brisk wind from Minnesota, has blown into town, challenging London’s orchestral musicians to give beyond their best and uncover new layers in repertory works they previously assumed they knew backwards.

Comment

Rysanov, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Bělohlávek, Barbican Hall

David Nice Friday, 11 November 2011

When telling a complex musical story, handle with care. Interpreters need have no fear of composers who find selective, tone-friendly angles in their literary sources, like Janáček with Gogol’s Taras Bulba in last night’s searing finale, or Zemlinsky with Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, the saturated climax of the previous evening.