Schnittke Festival finale, Jurowski, RFH

Haydn's passion brings consolation to a thorny late 20th-century concerto

by David NiceSaturday, 28 November 2009

Vladimir Jurowski conducting the RCM Symphony Orchestra at the start of the Schnittke FestivalChris Christodoulou

Eliot's "time future contained in time past" has been conductor Vladimir Jurowski's unofficial motto throughout a festival which has had to take itself very seriously, and managed miraculously to carry a surprisingly large, loyal audience of all ages and persuasions along with it. Such stringent conditions could hardly be otherwise given the focal point of an uncompromising genius.

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