Bruckner
Berlin Philharmonic, Rattle, RFH review - everything but inscapeThursday, 31 May 2018
Questions of interpretation apart, Simon Rattle has yet again proved the great connecter, this time in concerts separated by just over a month. Having set his seal on his new, galvanizing partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra by asserting,... Read more... |
LPO, Renes, RFH review - solid Bruckner lacking in nuanceMonday, 06 November 2017
This concert was to have been conducted by Stanisław Skrowaczewski, who died in February. Though futile, it’s hard not to speculate about what could have been, especially given his spectacular Bruckner performances with the London Philharmonic in... Read more... |
Goode, LPO, Jurowski, RFH review - tender Mozart, dynamic BrucknerMonday, 02 October 2017
Richard Goode is one of the world’s great pianists, but you wouldn’t guess it from his humble and unpretentious stage manner. He wears thick glasses and squints into the music, and when he plays he sings along under his breath. When he is not... Read more... |
Proms 64 & 66 review: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gatti - halfway to paradise with Bruckner and MahlerSunday, 03 September 2017
How do you get to heaven, especially if you need to reach the pearly gates by way of the earthbound acoustics of the Royal Albert Hall? With Chief Conductor Daniele Gatti as their spirit guide, the sumptuously arrayed pilgrim band of the Royal... Read more... |
LSO, Haitink, BarbicanTuesday, 30 May 2017
Bernard Haitink is one of the great Bruckner conductors of our time. His interpretations are expansive yet vivid and always go straight to the heart of the music. But he is also an old man, and physical frailty is increasingly inhibiting his work,... Read more... |
Tamestit, LSO, Roth, BarbicanMonday, 24 April 2017
François-Xavier Roth is a distinctive presence at the podium. He is short and immaculately attired, and first appearances could lead you to expect a civilised and uneventful evening. But the facade soon drops. His movements are brisk and erratic, as... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Brahms, Bruckner, PoulencSaturday, 01 April 2017
Brahms: Serenades 1 & 2 Gävle Symphony Orchestra/Jaime Martín (Ondine)You know within seconds that this release is going to be good: droning string fifths introducing the catchiest of horn solos, the tune echoed in some style by a winningly... Read more... |
Farewell, Stanisław Skrowaczewski (1923-2017)Friday, 24 February 2017
Bruckner conductors improve with age: Haitink, Blomstedt, Gielen – octogenarians all. But Stanisław Skrowaczewski went further, conducting his favourite composer almost to his death, this week at the age of 93. And more than any of his... Read more... |
Hardenberger, CBSO, Nelsons, Symphony Hall BirminghamFriday, 13 January 2017
Birmingham audiences are a supportive bunch. There was never much likelihood that they’d greet Andris Nelsons’s first Birmingham appearance since he departed for Boston in 2015 with less than the same warmth that they keep for other former CBSO... Read more... |
Trevigne, CBSO, Chauhan, Symphony Hall, BirminghamSaturday, 08 October 2016
Bruckner’s Third Symphony doesn’t so much begin as become audible. A steady heartbeat in the bass, oscillating violas lit from within by clarinets, and in the middle, slowly pulling clear of the texture, the proud, sombre trumpet motif to which... Read more... |
Prom 71: Trifonov, Staatskapelle Dresden, ThielemannThursday, 08 September 2016
Soft power in the shape of cultural ambassadors can go a long way. With a little help from its big guns in banking and industry, Germany has given this year's Proms no less than four of its major orchestras – from Leipzig, two from Berlin, and now... Read more... |
Prom 70: Staatskapelle Berlin, BarenboimWednesday, 07 September 2016
Daniel Barenboim is as distinctive as he is unpredictable. His considerable strengths – dynamism, passion, keen intellectual engagement – are balanced by some notable weaknesses – clunky tempo changes, lack of detail – but all configure differently... Read more... |
