Southbank Centre
The Pub Landlord, TouringMonday, 23 March 2015
Al Murray is celebrating 20 years as his brilliant invention the Pub Landlord, an autodidact, xenophobic sexist with misogynistic undertones. Who better then, you may think, to run for a certain political party in the forthcoming election? You'd be... Read more... |
Bronfman, LPO, Jurowski, RFHSunday, 22 March 2015
Over the past two Saturdays, Vladimir Jurowski and a London Philharmonic on top form have given us a mini-festival of great scores for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. The hallucinogenic vision of ancient Greece in Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé last week was... Read more... |
Widmann, LPO, Jurowski, RFHSunday, 15 March 2015
Through symphony, opera and orchestral fireworks, Julian Anderson’s music can usually be guaranteed to bring his audiences plenty of meaty listening. But the British composer’s golden aura faded somewhat during the London Philharmonic’s world... Read more... |
Lane, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Manze, RFHThursday, 12 March 2015
Andrew Manze chose an all-English programme for his debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Clarity of texture and disciplined, propulsive tempos are the hallmarks of his conducting, the results of many years as a violinist and ensemble leader... Read more... |
tUnE-yArDs, Royal Festival HallFriday, 06 March 2015
For the headliners of the Women Of The World Festival at London's Southbank Centre, there is less feisty feminism put on for show than you might expect. It's a nod to how far things have progressed - that other than the obligiatory thanksgiving for... Read more... |
Le Roi de Lahore, Chelsea Opera Group, QEHMonday, 02 March 2015
Now that opera houses mostly lack either the will or the funds to stage the more fantastical/exotic pageants among 19th century operas – the Royal Opera production of Meyerbeer’s mostly third-rate Robert le Diable was an unhappy exception – it’s... Read more... |
Hardenberger, Philharmonia, Nelsons, RFHMonday, 23 February 2015
Even by trumpeters’ standards, Håkan Hardenberger is a flamboyant figure. He sports a sharp, tailored suit and a wing-collared shirt, and his stage presence is all swagger and pomp. HK Gruber has captured his spirit perfectly in his jazzy,... Read more... |
Kožena, Royal, Berliner Philharmoniker, Rattle, RFHMonday, 16 February 2015
It’s all over: the final note of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s London Residency, for which many music-lovers bought tickets about a year ago, has risen into the ether, leaving most questions concerning Sir Simon Rattle’s future plans as yet... Read more... |
Philharmonic Octet Berlin, Queen Elizabeth HallSaturday, 14 February 2015
Even in a big orchestral concert, you’re bound to note Berlin Philharmonic principals as among the best instrumentalists in the world. I cited five in the central instalment of Simon Rattle’s Sibelius cycle on Wednesday. Of those, only viola-player... Read more... |
Alexander Ivashkin Memorial Concert, Queen Elizabeth HallFriday, 13 February 2015
A memorial concert to a busy man. Alexander Ivashkin, who died last January, was a cellist, a scholar, a teacher, an authority on Russian music, and much else besides. This evening’s concert faced up to the daunting challenge of commemorating the... Read more... |
Hannigan, Uchida, Philharmonia, Salonen, Royal Festival HallFriday, 13 February 2015
While the Berlin Philharmonic's progress through London with Simon Rattle has grabbed the column inches away from the rest of the capital's classical music offerings this week, a delightful mostly Ravel programme from the Philharmonia should not be... Read more... |
Lewis, Philharmonia, Nelsons, Royal Festival HallMonday, 09 February 2015
Andris Nelsons is flavour of the month in London. He is in town to conduct The Flying Dutchman at Covent Garden, but between performances he is moonlighting at the Festival Hall, giving two concerts with the Philharmonia. This, the first, opened... Read more... |
