Classical Reviews
Aimard, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Rattle, Royal Festival HallMonday, 11 June 2012
The repertoire of the OAE is creeping away from the 18th century and into the 20th with such unashamed eagerness, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see them throwing up an urtext edition of "Hit Me Baby One More Time" in a few seasons. Last night, we got 20th-century French impressionism, including a work that was premiered in 1933. Some might call this expansion into the las Read more...
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Maxwell Davies Ninth Symphony, RLPO, Petrenko, Philharmonic Hall, LiverpoolMonday, 11 June 2012
The new Ninth Symphony, from the pen of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, is something of a paradox. It was commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the Helskinki Philharmonic Orchestra and is dedicated to the Queen on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee. And yet it is a round condemnation of the nation’s interventions – called "disastrous" by the composer in his programme notes – in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Bach, Melton Tuba Quartett, OperaBabesSaturday, 09 June 2012
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Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Koopman, Christ Church SpitalfieldsSaturday, 09 June 2012
It’s one thing for UK Border Control to turn Heathrow’s Arrivals into a giant theme-park queue, but it’s quite another when they start messing with our music. Paperwork issues yesterday saw one Japanese and two Korean members of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra denied entry to the UK, leaving Ton Koopman and his band too under-staffed to attempt their planned Brandenburg Concerto. Read more... |
Murray Perahia, Barbican HallFriday, 08 June 2012
What an era for pianists it was in the four decades from 1800 to 1840, the era covered by Murray Perahia’s recital last night. Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert and Chopin all in full verdant flight, selected for a programme of much fantasy and dancing rhythms, in which the translucent, crystalline playing of the American found and told multiple stories. Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Michael Finnissy, Joel Frederiksen, Tine Thing HelsethSaturday, 02 June 2012
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London Symphony Orchestra, Tilson Thomas, Barbican HallFriday, 01 June 2012
Right, notebooks out everyone. Michael Tilson Thomas began this Berg/Mahler double-header with a lengthy analysis of what we were about to hear in the former’s Chamber Concerto. Whether it was informative or not (and it was), it was a bit of a spoiler. It was nice to know exactly which themes are attributed to which dedicatee, but you couldn’t help but feel the surprises in the work have been somewhat spiked by this little lecture. Read more... |
Knussen Sixtieth Birthday, CBSO Centre, BirminghamSaturday, 26 May 2012
Ask any young composer in this country who is the most important figure in modern British music, and the answer is likely to come back quick and sharp: Oliver Knussen. Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Massenet, David Russell, WeinbergSaturday, 26 May 2012
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Delius: Composer, Lover, Enigma, BBC FourSaturday, 26 May 2012
Serious programmes about classical music are now virtually invisible on the major channels. There’s always BBC Two’s Maestro at the Opera, I hear you shout. Or something with that nice Gareth Malone. A good selection of Proms will be shown live on BBC Four, but with luck will scrupulously avoid the witless interviews with celebs in lieu of proper interval talks... Read more... |
Bach: Brandenburg Concertos, Sinfonias Orchestra of the Antipodes/Antony Walker, Anna MacDonald, Erin Helyard (ABC Classics)
Michael Finnissy: Second & Third String Quartets Kreutzer Quartet (NMC)
Massenet: Werther Rolando Villazón, Sophie Koch, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House/Antonio Pappano (DG)Pages
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