This concert realisation of Peer Gynt offered a powerful riposte to Debussy’s famously waspish comment on Grieg’s music: that it had the strange charm of a pink bonbon stuffed with…
Category: Recitals/Concerts
Charpentier from La Nuova Musica and Voktett Hannover at Wigmore Hall
Under the direction of Baroque specialist David Bates, La Nuova Musica joined forces with the German a capella ensemble Voktett Hannover to reveal two sides of French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier.…
Mendelssohn and Brahms: a rarity and a staple in the choral repertory
Amateur choral societies are much more likely to venture into lesser known areas of the choral repertory without worrying about the box-office appeal which binds many other promoters. So it…
Spotlight on Carissimi from Vox Luminis
Two death sentences; one fatal, one reprieved, and a near-fatal encounter with a whale. These events formed the central focus of dramatic performances by the Belgium ensemble Vox Luminis in…
Life, death and holidays: lieder by Schubert, Loewe and Krenek at Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall gave London audiences the opportunity to hear lieder recitals by two leading German-speaking baritones within the space of a weekend. Konstantin Krimmel was joined by pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz…
Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in Marseille
Like the city itself, this Marseille Requiem reveled in expansive personality. It was a performance that can only be described as exuberant. Taking over from the aged Lawrence Foster as…
A memorable Mahler 3 from The Simón Bolívar and Gustavo Dudamel in London
The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela has certainly been in the news of late, with pianist Gabriela Montero particularly vocal in the wake of the recent election. But they…
The Nash Ensemble celebrate 60 years in and with style
There are few composers with an innate ability to write so captivatingly for the human voice as Richard Strauss. Towards the very end of his career, in 1947, he offered…
A rare outing for Francesco Scarlatti’s Il Daniele nel lago de’ Leon at Wigmore Hall
The rarest of the rare, perhaps, here: an oratorio by Francesco Scarlatti. And you thought Alessandro’s output was elusive. Francesco Scarlatti (1656-1721) was Alessandro’s brother (and uncle, therefore, of Domenico). …
Boulez at 100 and a George Benjamin premiere: Rattle and the LSO in London
Boulez 100, Rattle 70: both nice and buzzy, both true for this season. The two collided in this concert, and how: Boulez’s Éclat (note, not Éclat-Multiples), with Sir Simon at…