Classical Reviews

City of London Sinfonia, Layton, Southwark Cathedral

Sebastian Scotney Thursday, 09 October 2014

Stratford-upon-Avon calling. The City of London Sinfonia has embarked on a series of three Bard-based October concerts in London to commemorate the 450th anniversary year of Shakespeare's death. The first of the three stopping-off points last night was Southwark Cathedral, in some ways a logical starting-place, since the building proudly asserts its credentials as the parish church nearest to the Globe Theatre.

Classical CDs Weekly: Nielsen, Kristjan Järvi, Benjamin Grosvenor

graham Rickson Saturday, 04 October 2014

Piau, Les Paladins, Correas, Wigmore Hall

alexandra Coghlan Thursday, 02 October 2014

2014 is the 250^th anniversary of the death of Jean-Philippe Rameau, France’s baroque giant and maverick. To say that the UK celebrations have been muted is to put in generously, reconfirming a national trend that has long sidelined this repertoire in favour of more familiar Italian and German contemporaries. So it was especially good to see the Wigmore Hall full for an anniversary concert from instrumental ensemble Les Paladins and soprano Sandrine Piau.

Daniil Trifonov, Royal Festival Hall

Jessica Duchen Wednesday, 01 October 2014

Daniil Trifonov, 23, has shot to prominence as one of the hottest pianistic properties of the moment. With multiple competition wins behind him, including the Tchaikovsky in his native Russia, plus a recording contract with DG and a frenetic globe-trotting schedule, he is now a very busy young man.

Comment

Classical CDs Weekly: Aho, Bartók, Zelenka

graham Rickson Saturday, 27 September 2014

Grande Messe des Morts, Philharmonia, Salonen, RFH

Sebastian Scotney Friday, 26 September 2014

Hector Berlioz knew from early on in life which aspects of death he would want to avoid. He had seen quite enough of the medical textbooks that his father had tried to foist upon him. He had even got as far as smelling the dissecting table as a medical student in Paris, desperately counting the days before he could make his escape into music.

Bavouzet, LPO, Jurowski, Royal Festival Hall

David Nice Thursday, 25 September 2014

Comparisons, even on paper, between two season openers from London orchestras could hardly have been more instructive.

Comment

BBC Singers, BBCSO, Litton, Barbican Hall

Edward Seckerson Thursday, 25 September 2014

The problem with programming Charles Ives’s Fourth Symphony - and only the very bold and resourceful and/or the BBC are ever likely to do so - is that it eclipses everything, and I mean everything, in its proximity.

Benedetti, Manchester Camerata, Takács-Nagy, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

philip Radcliffe Sunday, 21 September 2014

Having been put to the fiddle at the age of five, Nicola Benedetti appreciates the value of making music at an early age. She is fiercely committed to music education and developing new talent. So it was a joy to see her playing enthusiastically with 30 primary school children as a pre-concert curtain raiser to the start of Manchester Camerata’s new season.

Last Night of the Proms, Jansen, Williams, BBCSO, Oramo

Sebastian Scotney Sunday, 14 September 2014

If only the Last Night of the Proms could just be about the music. If it were, then the story which I would want to tell would be about Janine Jansen. A crowd which mainly turns up to wave its vast array of flags, to bounce its beach-balls and generally to step free from the shackles of adulthood, was mesmerised into a concentrated hush by the magnetism of the Dutch violinist. She drew the huge audience right in to her playing.