RFH
Gilberto Gil, Royal Festival HallThursday, 22 July 2010
The dreadlocks are gone, the dark suit is gone, the acoustic guitar which was his faithful travelling companion during the four years as Brazilian Minister of Culture, is also gone. Instead, Gilberto Gil skipped on stage with a cool, short, grey... Read more... |
LPO, David Murphy, Royal Festival HallFriday, 02 July 2010
A packed Festival Hall and a cheering, stamping, standing ovation – hardly the usual welcome for an evening of contemporary music. Sitting, wizened and waistcoat-clad, at the centre of the front row was the reason: Ravi Shankar. Framed by the... Read more... |
Philharmonia Orchestra, Temirkanov, Royal Festival HallFriday, 25 June 2010
Perhaps we'd better get the Prokofiev part of the opening concert out of the way first. I have a real problem with Russian whizz pianist of the moment Denis Matsuev. His iron-clad technique and heavyweight thunder still leave some room for... Read more... |
Richard Thompson and Loudon Wainwright III, Royal Festival HallSunday, 20 June 2010
It takes quite something to be able to hold the attention of a packed Royal Festival Hall with nothing but an acoustic guitar, a piano, and a bunch of songs. Two men who have that something are Richard Thompson and Loudon Wainwright III, a pair of... Read more... |
Randy Newman, Royal Festival HallWednesday, 19 May 2010
So anyway, when I told my three teenagers that I was off to see Randy Newman, there was a collective yawn and a mild snort of derision, which (and I think I know them well enough to interpret their snorts of derision) said, in effect, “Well, he’s... Read more... |
London Philharmonic holds on to the bestTuesday, 18 May 2010It already has the finest balance in its team of house conductors, and fortunately - though few are more sought after worldwide - Vladimir Jurowski and Yannick Nézet-Séguin have pledged to extend their contracts with the London Philharmonic... Read more... |
LPO, Jurowski, Royal Festival HallThursday, 29 April 2010
For many of us, this was bound to be an emotional evening. Noëlle Mann, doyenne of all things Prokofievian on the editorial, archival, teaching and performing fronts, died peacefully at home last Friday, and it was to her that Vladimir Jurowski... Read more... |
The Metal Machine Trio, Royal Festival HallWednesday, 21 April 2010
A great wall of noise greets the audience as it settles in to the Royal Festival Hall - the sound of some heavy outer planet’s radio frequency, a subtly oscillating drone that recalls NASA’s recordings of radio emissions from Saturn made by the... Read more... |
Gorecki singer makes it despite volcanic ashSaturday, 17 April 2010Joanna Wos (left, no relation to Jonathan Ross) put in a stellar performance last night singing in Gorecki's Third Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall with the LPO, singing the part made famous on the million-selling recording by Dawn Upshaw. To... Read more... |
Philharmonia, Denève, Royal Festival HallFriday, 09 April 2010
Why, a modish reader might ask, did I go to hear a rum-looking cove conducting a classical lollipop at the Festival Hall when I might have tasted the latest fruits of a controversial prodigy over at the Barbican? First, because there's plenty of... Read more... |
Philharmonia Orchestra, Muti, Royal Festival HallTuesday, 30 March 2010
If all orchestras inspire a sense of loyalty to some degree, then the Philharmonia perhaps does it better than most. Mackerras is still performing with them, 54 years after he first conducted the orchestra; so is Maazel, who has clocked up 41 years... Read more... |
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jansons, RFHSaturday, 06 March 2010
There was I, up to that point, very grateful to be hearing so fresh an approach to a heavyweight, admiring the way the crack Bavarian players sang and danced in every line that so often stays numb until the mechanics of horror let rip, but wondering... Read more... |
