Classical Reviews
Explore Ensemble, EXAUDI, St John's Smith Square review - making sense of NonoTuesday, 20 February 2018
This was an evening of silence and shadow, a chill, moonlit meditation, where each sound demanded forensic attention. Enter the world of Luigi Nono and his admirers. Read more... |
Kaufmann, Damrau, Deutsch, Barbican review - bliss, if only you closed your eyesSaturday, 17 February 2018
Schubert’s winter wanderer had Wilhelm Muller to voice his despair, while Schumann’s poet-in-love had Heinrich Heine. The lovers of Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch must make do with only the words of anonymous Italian authors, albeit dressed up for the salon in elegant German translations by Paul Heyse. Read more... |
Weilerstein, Czech Philharmonic, Netopil, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - drama and feelingTuesday, 13 February 2018
The Czech Philharmonic on tour are a familiar sight, and they have built a following appreciative of their particular qualities, since they are an orchestra with a sound of their own – the way European orchestras used to be, in some respects. A distinguished colleague used to call them the bouncing Czechs: I like to think they are like the best of their homeland’s beer: rich, mellow, and full of character and body. Read more... |
Theatre of Voices, Kings Place review - fluidity and dynamism in StockhausenSaturday, 10 February 2018
The last time Theatre of Voices performed Stockhausen’s STIMMUNG in London was at the Albert Hall, at a late night Prom in 2008, so Kings Place made for a much more intimate setting. In fact, the work, which is for six unaccompanied voices, relies heavily on electronic amplification, so can be adapted to almost any environment. And Kings Place proved perfect, with its sympathetic acoustic and hi-tech audio array. Read more... |
Jansen/Maisky/Argerich Trio, Barbican review - three classical titans give chamber music masterclassWednesday, 07 February 2018
They were billed as a Trio, but when the classical super-group of Janine Jansen, Mischa Maisky and Martha Argerich came together at the Barbican last night it was in a sequence of different combinations, each with their own musical identity. The centre of gravity, however, remained constant. Read more... |
Baráti, Lyddon, LPO, Jurowski, RFH review - Stravinsky's bright but derivative beginningsMonday, 05 February 2018
"You have to start somewhere," Debussy is reported to have said at the 1910 premiere of The Firebird. Which, at least, is a very good "somewhere" for Stravinsky, shot through with flashes of the personality to come. Read more... |
Capuçon, Philharmonia, Järvi, RFH review - Dvořák in blazing focusFriday, 02 February 2018
You can't have too much Dvořák in a single evening, at least not when the works in question operate at the highest level of volatility and melodic abundance like last night's overture, concerto and symphony. Read more... |
Clare College Choir, Manchester Camerata, Takács-Nagy, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review – romance and dramaThursday, 01 February 2018
It began in semi-darkness. Appropriate for Arvo Pärt, perhaps – after all, Manchester Camerata have played his music in Manchester Cathedral to great atmospheric effect in the past. But the Choir of Clare College Cambridge, conducted by Graham Ross, delivered his Da pacem Domine in a hall where it seemed as if the lights had failed … not quite the same thing. Read more... |
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Milton Court review - Arvo Pärt plusWednesday, 31 January 2018
Make Arvo Pärt the bulwark of any concert and you can surprise as well as delight the full house he’s likely to win you with the rest of your chosen programme. Read more... |
Hagen Quartet, Jörg Widmann, Wigmore Hall review – proportion and eleganceWednesday, 31 January 2018
Jörg Widmann writes fast. He is also one of the few young German composers who can write distinctive and idiomatic music without feeling the weight of his country’s musical heritage on his shoulders at every turn. Surprisingly, then, his Clarinet Quintet, which here received its UK premiere at Wigmore Hall, was eight years in the making, and was initially abandoned because "music history ... Read more... |
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