Beethoven
Hagen Quartet, Wigmore HallMonday, 01 May 2017
The Hagen Quartet has been playing together for decades, and it shows. The group, which includes three siblings, performs with a deep and intuitive sense of unity: of timbre, technique, articulation and intent. Where most quartets are clearly led by... Read more... |
Stoller Hall Opening, Chetham's School of Music, ManchesterMonday, 24 April 2017
The opening of a new concert hall offers two options for opinionizing: the venue itself – or the performances in it? Review the acoustics – or the music? It has to be a mixture of the two, in the end. Chetham’s School of Music, in Manchester, has... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Horn-player Alec Frank-GemmillSaturday, 15 April 2017
Traditional musical formats rarely suit the individual talent, but the highly-motivated player always finds a way. I first got to talk to Alec Frank-Gemmill in the very sociable surroundings of the Pärnu Festival in Estonia, a gathering most... Read more... |
Pina Bausch's Rite of Spring, English National Ballet, Sadler's WellsFriday, 24 March 2017
Is English National Ballet's current predilection for acquiring European repertoire some kind of anti-Brexit statement, or just smart brand positioning? Last night's performance at Sadler's Wells, a sequel in all but name to the programme called... Read more... |
Maurizio Pollini, RFHWednesday, 15 March 2017
Age is finally catching up with Maurizio Pollini. This recital was one of a series to mark the pianist’s 75th birthday, presenting Beethoven piano sonatas, music at the core of his repertoire. His legendary status was justified by these readings,... Read more... |
10 Questions for Conductor Paavo JärviSaturday, 04 March 2017
Now at the very top of his game and master of sundry great orchestras around the world, Paavo Järvi is the conductor students of the art like to follow for his perfect technique. Time was when he seemed like the cooler version of his peerless father... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Beethoven, Rasmussen, Shostakovich, TchaikovskySaturday, 25 February 2017
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op.110 and Op.111, with music by András Szöllösy and Gyula Csapó Gábor Csalog (piano) (BMC)Two Beethoven sonatas coupled with shorter pieces by a pair of contemporary Hungarian composers makes for an engaging mixture.... Read more... |
Farewell, Stanisław Skrowaczewski (1923-2017)Friday, 24 February 2017
Bruckner conductors improve with age: Haitink, Blomstedt, Gielen – octogenarians all. But Stanisław Skrowaczewski went further, conducting his favourite composer almost to his death, this week at the age of 93. And more than any of his... Read more... |
Grosvenor, BBCPO, Gernon, Bridgewater Hall, ManchesterTuesday, 07 February 2017
Two young guys called Ben graced the BBC Philharmonic platform at the Bridgewater Hall – looking almost like Ant and Dec if you let your imagination wander. Ben Gernon, 27, had just been announced as the orchestra’s new Principal Guest Conductor (... Read more... |
Elisabeth Leonskaja, Wigmore HallFriday, 27 January 2017
Restlessness in a good sense was the keynote of Elisabeth Leonskaja's latest revelatory recital. At 71, the Russian pianist, now an Austrian citizen, has all the supreme mastery it takes to make the volatility work: perfect weight and balance,... Read more... |
Fidelio, LPO, Jurowski, RFHMonday, 23 January 2017
Juxtaposition is a powerful thing. Just one day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the USA and mere hours after women across the world marched in unprecedented numbers to safeguard freedom and champion democracy, the Southbank... Read more... |
St Lawrence String Quartet, Wigmore HallWednesday, 14 December 2016
John Adams, let's face it, was the reason many of us came to hear the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Their performances and recordings as dedicatees of his labyrinthine First String Quartet and Absolute Jest, in which the four players function as... Read more... |
