Josefowicz, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Knussen, Royal Albert Hall | reviews, news & interviews
Josefowicz, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Knussen, Royal Albert Hall
Josefowicz, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Knussen, Royal Albert Hall
Matthews' concerto bores, Birtwistle ejaculates prematurely and Stockhausen goes mad
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Leila Josefowicz: 'who gave the piece her all - and almost generated some fire from these wet twigs'
"Stockhausen's festive overture from 1977 opens the programme," declared the Proms website cheerily. Come again? Festive? Stockhausen? From my limited but largely enthusiastic knowledge of the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen - much of which is about as festive as Auschwitz - I assumed that this must either be a big misunderstanding or a lively, perhaps German, joke. It was both.
"Stockhausen's festive overture from 1977 opens the programme," declared the Proms website cheerily. Come again? Festive? Stockhausen? From my limited but largely enthusiastic knowledge of the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen - much of which is about as festive as Auschwitz - I assumed that this must either be a big misunderstanding or a lively, perhaps German, joke. It was both.
Labelling Jubilee as "festive" is but a minor bit of madness in an ocean of mental instability.
Share this article
Add comment
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Classical music
St Martin's Voices, Earis, St Martin-in-the-Fields review - music from the beginning
Young singers explore traditional and more unusual settings of biblical creation narratives
Sheffield Chamber Music Festival 2024 review - curator Steven Isserlis spotlights masterly Fauré and Saint-Saëns
More delights in the round as Ensemble 360 is joined by very special guests
Sphinx Organization, Wigmore Hall review - black performers and composers take centre stage
A welcome spotlight on diversified repertoire, played with sincerity and humour
Classical CDs: Cowhorns, gloves and marching drums
Contemporary sounds from Norway, plus rediscovered American and a brass dectet
Kolesnikov, Wigmore Hall review - celestial navigation through a cabinet of wonders
Quirky but brilliant programme finds connections between unlikely bedfellows
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Sousa, St Martin-in-the-Fields review - Beethoven, younger than springtime
An exuberant cobweb-clearing symphony cycle
Hough, Hallé, Elder, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - affection and adventure
Sir Stephen Hough’s piano concerto receives its European premiere
Bavouzet, Manchester Camerata, Takács-Nagy, Stoller Hall, Manchester review - fun with abandon
Approaching the final goal of ‘Mozart, made in Manchester’
Dunedin Consort, Mulroy, Wigmore Hall review - songs of love old and new
First-rate chamber choir explore contemporary and Renaissance approaches to amour
Coote, LSO, Tilson Thomas, Barbican review - the triumph of life
A great, ailing conductor rises to Mahler's mightiest challenge
Britten Sinfonia, The Marian Consort, Milton Court review - a journey around turbulent spirit Gesualdo
Contemporary homages among the works in this celebration of the Renaissance 'badass'
Classical CDs: Coffee, peppercorns and puppets
A prolific conductor's centenary celebrated, plus Hungarian ballet music and baroque keyboard concertos
Comments
...
...
...
...