Classical music
BBC Singers, BBCSO, Jeannin, Barbican review - from stormy weather to blue skiesThursday, 03 October 2024
“Bold, ambitious, and good for the sector.” So said Charlotte Moore, the BBC chief content officer, who currently earns £468,000, in March last year as she defended plans to close the BBC Singers as part of a package of swingeing musical cuts masked... Read more... |
Elisabeth Leonskaja, Wigmore Hall review - a universe of sound and emotion in Schubert’s last three sonatasMonday, 30 September 2024
Wonders never ceased in Elisabeth Leonskaja’s return to the Wigmore Hall. Not only did she play Schubert’s last three sonatas with all repeats and the full range of a unique power undiminished in a 78-year old alongside a never too overstated pathos... Read more... |
Andsnes, London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Gardner, RFH review - total clarity in classic-romantic and prophetic RachmaninovMonday, 30 September 2024
If there was ever a time for the inevitable "Rach Three” (piano concerto, not symphony) in the composer’s 150th anniversary year – and I confess I dodged other occasions – it might as well have come in the fresh and racy shape of Leif Ove... Read more... |
Classical CDs: Trills, gavottes and barking dogsSaturday, 28 September 2024
Joan Sutherland: The Complete Decca Recordings – Recitals & Oratorios (Decca)The voice of La Stupenda must have been the most recorded in history, given Decca’s lavish heyday (La Divina, Callas, just missed EMI's stereo best). Even before... Read more... |
Hough, Philharmonia, Rouvali, RFH review - where the wild things areFriday, 27 September 2024
This autumn, the Philharmonia’s “Nordic Soundscapes” season promises music suffused with the epic vistas, and weather, of high latitudes, along with reflections on the climate crisis as it threatens the traditional bonds between nature and culture.... Read more... |
Hallé, Wong, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - declaration of thrills to comeFriday, 27 September 2024
If audience reaction is anything to go by, Kahchun Wong’s season-opening first concert officially in post as principal conductor of the Hallé was an outstanding success.And the reception was deserved. Still young enough, with a mop of hair cascading... Read more... |
Natalie Tenenbaum, Oslo Hackney review - shimmering hailstorms of notesThursday, 26 September 2024
Three years after Through the Noise’s first experimental “noisenight” at the Hoxton Underbelly, they are expanding into an international organisation with concerts scheduled for Paris and Brussels this season. Their drive to bring world-class... Read more... |
Angela Hewitt, Wigmore Hall review - Scarlatti miniatures outshine Brahms behemothWednesday, 25 September 2024
If Angela Hewitt’s recital last night at the Wigmore Hall was a meal, it would have been two light, fresh – but nourishing – courses, followed by a big suetty pudding, splendidly cooked but sitting slightly heavy on the stomach. The delightful... Read more... |
Pavel Kolesnikov, Wigmore Hall review - unpredictable magicTuesday, 24 September 2024
All five finalists in the Leeds International Piano Competition, at which Pavel Kolesnikov was one of the jurors, should have been given tickets, transport and accommodation to hear his Wigmore recital the evening after the prizegiving. Not that... Read more... |
Lewis, BBC Philharmonic, Storgårds, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - adding the Moon to The PlanetsTuesday, 24 September 2024
The first piece by Grace-Evangeline Mason I heard was six years ago, a simple song in a multi-composer “Manchester Peace Song Cycle” performed at the Royal Northern College of Music when she was studying there.It was striking because of its eloquent... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Bradford - Leeds International Piano Competition 2024 finalists shine in St George's HallMonday, 23 September 2024
How do you make a two-part final featuring five piano concertos work as a couple of totally satisfying programmes? First, give a wide list of concerto options, ask each pianist for two choices, settle on what will make the best contrasts – and then... Read more... |
First Person: soprano Elizabeth Atherton on the decimation of the classical music sector in WalesMonday, 23 September 2024
Is it an opera company’s role to avert climate change? Should a circus troupe have to prioritize promoting the Welsh language? Is the purpose of a dance ensemble to bring about social justice? Should these issues be the main focus for our arts... Read more... |
