Sibelius
Dickson, SCO, Swensen, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh review - world premiere of a bold new workFriday, 13 April 2018
It’s as intricate as it is concise. The depth to the architecture of James MacMillan’s Saxophone Concerto – which was given its world premiere this week by saxophonist Amy Dickson and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra – is quite astounding, and all the... Read more... |
Komsi, BBCSO, Oramo, Barbican Hall review - Sibelius series ends in gloryMonday, 08 January 2018
Twelfth Night, Epiphany, call it what you will, is one reminder that there's continuity after the turn of the year. Another was Sakari Oramo's final Sibelius-plus concert with the BBC Symphony Orchestra - a predictable triumph given that the... Read more... |
Best of 2017: Classical concertsWednesday, 27 December 2017
Did Simon Rattle's return to the UK as Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra live up to the hype? Mostly, and when it did, the music-making was superbly alive. But it's vital to observe that another orchestra and chief conductor have... Read more... |
Salonen conducts Sibelius, RFH/Oramo conducts Salonen, Barbican review - Finnish psychedeliaMonday, 11 December 2017
After Sakari Oramo's dazzling Sibelius rattlebag with the BBC Symphony Orchestra on the centenary day of Finnish independence, things weren't looking so good for Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia at half time last Thursday (★★★). Then along... Read more... |
Johnston, BBCSO, Oramo, Barbican review - sheer adrenalin in early SibeliusThursday, 07 December 2017
As the Parliament of the Autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire declared independence on 6 December 1917, Sibelius had his head down working on the third version of his Fifth Symphony, the one so hugely popular today. He tried... Read more... |
Batiashvili, BBCSO, Oramo, Barbican review - electricity in Sibelius and HillborgThursday, 30 November 2017
Even given the peerless standards already set by Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra in their Sibelius cycle, this instalment was always going to be the toughest, featuring the most elusive of the symphonies, the Sixth, and the sparest, the... Read more... |
Leif Ove Andsnes, RFH review - interior magic from a master colouristWednesday, 01 November 2017
Such introspective subtlety might be mistaken for reticence. But from the rare instances when the Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes lets rip - and they're never forced - you know he's wielding his palette with both skill and intuition, waiting for... Read more... |
Bavouzet, BBCSO, Oramo, Barbican review - playing the long game in SibeliusSaturday, 28 October 2017
Perhaps Sibelius did the right thing, signing off Tapiola in 1926 and then all but closing his account, spending the next three decades sitting and drinking. Over in Paris, his near-contemporary Florent Schmitt carried on, beavering away not only as... Read more... |
Santtu-Matias Rouvali on conducting in Gothenburg - 'they just want to make music. No bullshit'Sunday, 01 October 2017
Sweden's ackowledged "National Orchestra", the Gothenburg Symphony, left its Chief Conductor post unfilled for four seasons, but now it's finally certain to have let the right one in. Having enjoyed a golden age in the (largely unsung) highest... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Sibelius, Vivaldi, WeillSaturday, 30 September 2017
Sibelius: Piano Music Leif Ove Andsnes (Sony)Yes, Sibelius did write piano music, though not a lot of it gets heard. A recent BIS collection featured original pieces and transcriptions played on the composer's own piano, and Glenn Gould recorded a... Read more... |
Kuusisto, Philharmonia, Salonen, RFH review - Icelanders fare better than SibeliusFriday, 29 September 2017
London orchestras do communicate with each other, sometimes at least, when it comes to programming. It can’t have been a coincidence that on Wednesday we had one Finnish chief conductor, Sakari Oramo launching his BBC Symphony Orchestra Sibelius... Read more... |
Pogostkina, BBCSO, Oramo, Barbican review - human emotions in Sibelius's heavenThursday, 28 September 2017
It was on the strength of a single concert including a startling Sibelius Luonnotar and Third Symphony, thankfully reported here, that Sakari Oramo was appointed Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. We had to wait a while for more major... Read more... |
