Classical Reviews
National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Elder, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review – maturity from teenage playersSaturday, 06 January 2018
Seventy years old and still imbued with youthful flair and enthusiasm – that’s the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, which pioneered new territory in its first concert of 2018 last night. The flair and enthusiasm also apply to Sir Mark Elder, who conducted the event. Read more...
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Ivana Gavrić, Wigmore Hall review - more earth than airFriday, 29 December 2017
Power and intelligence combined make Sarajevo-born British pianist Ivana Gavrić stand out from the crowd. Bass lines are clear and strong; right-hand melodies move in keenly articulated song. Read more... |
Joyce DiDonato and Brentano Quartet, Wigmore Hall - not enough varietyWednesday, 20 December 2017
Even for a singer as driven, communicative and self-reliant as Joyce DiDonato, the song recital with string quartet is a bold step. Whereas an endless repertoire of songs with piano exists, there is virtually nothing off-the-peg for singer and string quartet; it is a case of commissioning the arrangements, and to some extent building your own art form. Read more... |
Christmas Oratorio, LPO, Jurowski, RFH review - right piece, wrong placeMonday, 18 December 2017
Just when you can scarcely move for Messiahs, two Christmas Oratorios came along at once on Saturday night. That’s London concert schedules for you. Read more... |
Coates, Tenebrae, Short, Kings Place review - effective meeting of cello and choirMonday, 18 December 2017
This time of year lots of choirs give lots of Christmas concerts that are more or less the same: traditional repertoire perhaps sprinkled with a few novelties. Read more... |
Zimerman, LSO, Rattle, Barbican review - a diverse Bernstein centenarySunday, 17 December 2017
Leonard Bernstein is 100 already. Actually, he’s not – his centenary falls in 2018, but the LSO, an orchestra he conducted many times, is building up to the anniversary with a series of concerts featuring his three symphonies. Read more... |
Octets, Wigmore Hall review - Heath Quartet and star friends effervesceSaturday, 16 December 2017
To compose a masterpiece in your teens is rare enough; to choose the most elaborate form in chamber music, an octet for eight strings, ensures a peculiar kind of immortality. Read more... |
Schumann Street, Spitalfields Festival review - illumination on a winter's nightWednesday, 13 December 2017
An icy, wet wind snuck under the door of house number 8 in Fournier Street, where Uri Caine, bundled in coat and woolly hat, conjured Schumann’s darkly powerful "Im Rhein". Beside him, perched on a weaver’s stool, was improvising legend Phil Minton, rasping, whistling and groaning his way through "The wilderness of my life". Read more... |
Mark Padmore, Mitsuko Uchida, Wigmore Hall review - direct and uncompromising SchubertTuesday, 12 December 2017
Expectations ran high for Mark Padmore and Mitsuko Uchida in Winterreise. Read more... |
Chineke! Ensemble, RNCM, Manchester review - musical advocacyTuesday, 12 December 2017
The Chineke! Orchestra has won golden opinions for its ground-breaking work and musical achievement, and Manchester caught up to the extent of a visit from the eight-person Chineke! Ensemble to the Royal Northern College of Music. Read more... |
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