Bach
Prom 60: Gerhaher, Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, JordanWednesday, 31 August 2016
There is no reason why young musicians shouldn't make something special out of mature thoughts on mortality. Nor is the Albert Hall problematic when it comes to haloing intimate Bach as finely as it does massive Bruckner. The Gustav Mahler Youth... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Bach, Graeme Koehne, SchubertSaturday, 30 July 2016
Bach: Keyboard Concertos Andrea Bacchetti/Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI (Sony)My only niggle with this invigorating set is that we don’t get all seven of Bach’s keyboard concertos. Having six is splendid, but there’s bags of spare space on... Read more... |
Cottier Chamber Project 2016, GlasgowSaturday, 18 June 2016
It should have been a complete disaster. Not announcing your festival’s programme until barely a week before it started ought to have guaranteed that nobody knew about it – no press, no audiences, other plans made, other things booked.But still they... Read more... |
Multi-Story Orchestra, Stark, Spitalfields Music Summer FestivalFriday, 17 June 2016
Crazy-faced space-hopper, playmobil fireman, marble run: toys from my own childhood, staring at me now from out of glass cases, alongside an 18th century marionette, thread-bare rocking horses and a headless Georgian doll. This concert in the Museum... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Bach, Alison Balsom, Steven OsborneSaturday, 04 June 2016
Bach: Goldberg Variations Bassoon Consort Frankfurt (MDG)The only performances of Bach's Goldbergs which don't hit the spot for me tend to be those played on harpsichord. Piano will always be best, but I've enjoyed versions for harp, guitar, string... Read more... |
Bach Cantatas and Magnificat, Bach Collegium Japan, Suzuki, Saffron HallTuesday, 12 April 2016
“The rests, the silences in Bach are never for nothing,” I once heard the Dutch cellist and baroque specialist Anner Bylsma telling a student in a masterclass. “You jump up from them, you reach higher.” Hearing the Bach Collegium Japan on Sunday... Read more... |
Bach B Minor Mass, Bach Collegium Japan, Suzuki, BarbicanSaturday, 09 April 2016
Masaaki Suzuki’s reputation precedes him. His recordings of Bach’s choral works with Bach Collegium Japan, the group he founded in 1990, have been arguably the finest of recent decades. But visits to the West, and especially to London, are rare, so... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Berlin: Three BalletsSunday, 03 April 2016
In London, seeing the same ballet company do three different pieces in three different theatres over four nights would be some kind of festival. In Berlin, it's just business as usual – albeit quite a busy week! – for the hard-working Staatsballett... Read more... |
Bach B Minor Mass, London Bach Singers, Feinstein Ensemble, Kings PlaceSunday, 03 April 2016
The B Minor Mass comes in many shapes and sizes. Martin Feinstein opts for a bright and bijou approach, with period instruments, one to a part, and a choir of ten. The small ensemble sometimes lacks finesse, but makes up for it in dynamism, passion... Read more... |
St Matthew Passion, Bach Choir, Florilegium, Hill, RFHTuesday, 22 March 2016
The annual Bach Choir St Matthew Passion is a satisfying mix of new and old. The tradition dates back to 1930, and, as was the fashion then, the choir employed is huge. Applause is kept to a minimum, another nod to tradition, as is the translation... Read more... |
Virtuoso Violinists at the BBC, BBC FourSaturday, 12 March 2016
Virtuoso Violinists was an hour of unalloyed informative pleasure that toured televised highlights of great violinists playing great music. Its painless excursion into the western classical canon reminded us why the BBC is the NHS of culture, and we... Read more... |
Seong-Jin Cho, St John's Smith Square, LondonSaturday, 12 March 2016
It’s always heartening to see a full house for a debut recital, though when expectations run so high, the stakes for the pianist can be dangerously raised. No worries at St John’s Smith Square, though, for Seong-Jin Cho. The diminutive, young South... Read more... |
