Stravinsky
BBC Proms: Graham, Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, DavisThursday, 25 August 2011
The spectacle of an orchestra named after Mahler playing Stravinsky irresistibly calls to mind Stravinsky’s report of a performance of the Eighth Symphony in Zurich in 1913. “Imagine”, he wrote to Maurice Delage, “that for two hours you are made to... Read more... |
BBC Proms: Batiashvili, Philharmonia Orchestra, SalonenWednesday, 17 August 2011
An all-Russian prom with two masterpieces centre stage and a remarkably compelling young violin artist brought in a packed house last night. Esa-Pekka Salonen and Lisa Batiashvili have already recorded Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto, and the... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Poulenc, Saint-Saëns, StravinskyFriday, 05 August 2011
There's a Gallic flavour to this week's new releases, with two unusual recordings of orchestral music played on period instruments. And there's a set of seminal 20th-century ballet scores, played by a wonderful French orchestra under their much-... Read more... |
Homage to Fokine, Mariinsky Ballet, Royal Opera HouseSaturday, 30 July 2011
Mikhail Fokine, choreographer to both West and East, looked forward and back, too. He studied in the old Imperial Theatre School when the tsars ruled Russia, and he was also Diaghilev’s creative genius at the Ballets Russes, moving dance into the... Read more... |
The Rite of Spring, Peckham Car Park/ Yellow Lounge, London Bridge ArchesSaturday, 30 July 2011
Forget almost everything you thought you knew about classical music. Forget the regulations and the rigmarole, the politeness and the prissiness. Forget the preening institutions. Forget the vocal doom-sayers. Classical music is in the throes of an... Read more... |
BBC Proms: Arditti Quartet, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, FischerThursday, 28 July 2011
One of the weirdest things about the Proms's "weird concerto" theme is that the concertos so far haven't been all that weird. Piano. Violin. Cello and violin. Cello, piano and violin. Pretty familiar stuff. Finally last night we got something bona... Read more... |
BBC Proms: Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Chung/ Erben, Belcea QuartetTuesday, 19 July 2011
The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost materialised yesterday. And I'm not talking about the transcendental appearance of the Holy Trinity of News International. I'm talking Proms. Last night's two saw a geriatric performance of the Brahms double, a... Read more... |
Colin Currie, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, CBSO, BCMG, Oliver Knussen, Aldeburgh FestivalMonday, 27 June 2011
Yesterday afternoon's final concert at the Aldeburgh Festival saw an astonishing world premiere. A major new double concerto from a 102-year-old Elliott Carter. Imagine Schubert premiering a song cycle in 1900, or Van Gogh unveiling a self... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Mahler, Schubert, StravinskyFriday, 10 June 2011
A 20th-century Austrian symphony receives a memorable first recording, coupled with a witty, rarely played slice of Schubert. Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony is heard in a powerful reading recorded in the Royal Festival Hall. And we’ve an... Read more... |
Scènes de Ballet/ Voluntaries/ The Rite of Spring, Royal BalletSaturday, 28 May 2011
Programming a mixed bill is a very delicate art, and what seems like an interesting mix to one person might appear to be an entirely random series of choices to another. The Royal’s new triple is the perfect example. The music – Stravinsky, Poulenc... Read more... |
Rites: 3D, CBSO, Volkov, Royal Festival HallMonday, 25 April 2011
Were the great Diaghilev alive today, surely he’d be working in the imaginative possibilities of electronic technology - this was the opinion given me by the arts panjandrum, the late Sir John Drummond. And given the developments of 3D, who knows... Read more... |
CD: Marius Neset – Golden XplosionWednesday, 20 April 2011
For the sheer multiplicity of event, the resplendently rich palette of sound and the incendiary aural thrill it detonates, Marius Neset's Golden Xplosion is aptly named. This second solo album from the 25-year-old Norwegian sax player and composer... Read more... |
