Royal Albert Hall
Prom 5: Missa Solemnis, BBCPO, NosedaWednesday, 20 July 2016
Even in a performance as well-organised as this one, masterminded by Gianandrea Noseda, there is still something of the codebook about the Missa solemnis. Its length and scale simultaneously attract devotion and repel the kind of affection drawn by... Read more... |
Prom 3: Crowe, OAE, CleoburyMonday, 18 July 2016
It is interesting to note how, in the space of a few short decades, so-called “period instrument” performances of classical music have moved from edgy experimentation to the mainstream of the tradition. In last night’s Prom, the Orchestra of the Age... Read more... |
Prom 2: Boris Godunov, Royal Opera, PappanoSunday, 17 July 2016
The Royal Opera’s Boris Godunov production made the short trip from Covent Garden to South Ken for the company’s appearance at the 2016 Proms. The opera (here in its original 1869 version) is a good choice for concert presentation: as Antonio... Read more... |
First Night of the Proms, BBCSO, Oramo, Gabetta, BorodinaSaturday, 16 July 2016
The first notes of the first night of the Proms weren’t the ones expected. Instead of either “God Save the Queen” or simply the start of the Tchaikovsky, the “Marseillaise” rang out into the Royal Albert Hall, the Tricouleur projected in coloured... Read more... |
Pick of the BBC Proms 2016Monday, 11 July 2016
"Refreshingly traditional" is how one of our writers describes this year's BBC Proms programme. Alarmingly unadventurous might be another way of putting it, though only in comparison with many of the golden years under Roger Wright.It's true that... Read more... |
Zuev, LPO, Jurowski, RFHMonday, 02 May 2016
It often sounds as though Richard Strauss makes the ascent of his Alpine Symphony in too many layers of clothes. Hopes were that Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra would give us a characteristically sinewy, more lightly-clad... Read more... |
Gregory Porter, Royal Albert HallTuesday, 05 April 2016
Gregory Porter’s singing pedigree is impeccable. With a performing history in the American Church of God in Christ, where his mother was a minister, honed by several years before his breakthrough living in hipster-jazz heaven Brooklyn, and... Read more... |
Mahler 2, Coote, Tynan, RPO, Petrenko, Royal Albert HallWednesday, 23 March 2016
An auspicious debut with the Royal Philharmonic for Vasily Petrenko. Just watching him conduct, it is clear that he is a natural communicator, always giving a clear, generous beat and never missing a cue. No surprise, then, that the orchestra was on... Read more... |
Bob Dylan, Royal Albert HallThursday, 22 October 2015
Two years ago, Dylan played his best concert in years here at the Royal Albert Hall, the dim stage circled by vintage movie studio lights, and circling Dylan a band seasoned enough to bottle its own oil, delivering a new kind of quiet, late-night... Read more... |
Sir David Willcocks (1919-2015)Saturday, 19 September 2015
Even if you never saw him conduct, you may well have sung one of Sir David Willcocks's carol arrangements. I remember the unnatural excitement in our church choir when the orange-jacketed Carols for Choirs 2 arrived on the scene, enhancing our... Read more... |
Last Night of the Proms, BBCSO, AlsopSunday, 13 September 2015
“A rich and eclectic sequence of works” was the promise made in this evening’s concert programme. It certainly was that, with the Last Night festivities taking in new and old, well-known and obscure, plus a handful of celebrity soloists for good... Read more... |
Prom 75: The Dream of Gerontius, VPO, RattleSaturday, 12 September 2015
And so it ends – with angels and archangels and “heart-subduing melody”. The Proms might not officially finish till tomorrow night, but this penultimate concert is always the true close of the season, and what better or more fitting an ending –... Read more... |
