Philharmonia Orchestra/Sokiev, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

By Edward Seckerson [The Independent, 8 December 2005]
In a bid to attract younger punters to their concerts, the Philharmonia organised a speed-dating event before this one. And since the main attraction was a rare Mussorgsky opera entitled The Marriage, the marketing may have been desperate but at least the wit was still intact. In the event, the speed-dating proved only marginally speedier than the opera.