Find articles | David Pinedo

Oper Leipzig served up Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen as the closing piece of its Wagner Festtage “Frühe Werke”. 

Where to place Wagner’s first opera Die Feen? Not a typical comedy, but it’s also not a tragedy. Oper Leipzig's powerful production is one to fall in love with. 

Oper Leipzig's co-production with Bayreuth Festspiele pulls off a delightful take on Wagner's Das Liebesverbot. With excellent vocals, the Gewandhaus Orchestra, and great wit, Wagner's comedy comes highly recommended.

Semyon Bychkov continued to develop his noble synergy with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in exemplary Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, although Kristine Opolais made for a tepid debut.

Sennu Laine brought out a richness and suspense in Dutilleux's Tout un monde lointain, I had not heard before tonight. With all three sets from Debussy’s Images pour orchestre and an ebullient Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, Barenboim and his Staatskapelle intoxicated the audience.

For the centennial celebration of Max Reger’s death, American pianist Peter Serkin and Herbert Blomstedt travelled to Saxony, the composer’s birthplace, touring orchestras with his Piano Concerto in F minor.

Franz Welser-Möst made for great dissatisfaction in his postponed debut with the RCO. However, before the intermission in Mozart’s Second Horn Concerto, Laurens Woudenberg offered a remarkable solo.

Besides Giltburg’s superlative play in Grieg, Saraste’s Sibelius swept you off your feet. 

As part of their blockbuster festival programme Simon Rattle and his brawny Berliners offered Beethoven’s Ninth in a monumental performance. 

Philippe Jaroussky stars in a new Kaija Saariaho—Peter Sellars collaboration: Only the Sound Remains. Not since Written on Skin has modern opera thrilled with such intensity.

For the silver jubilee of Ronald Brautigam’s history with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Sally Beamish composed a new piano concerto. Haydn, Mozart, and Elgar complemented the programme.

A dream matchup of Janine Jansen with Alexander Gavrylyuk spoiled the audience at the Concertgebouw in this must-hear collaboration. Tonight’s programme included sonatas from Brahms, Prokofiev, Poulenc and a sublime rendition of Szymanowski’s Trois Mythes.

With exceptional nuance, lead flautist Juliette Hurel demonstrated her Olympian skills in Bruno Mantovani's technically exhausting, often violent work. With the flute in mind, Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s wildly upbeat Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony in C-minor ‘Titan’ made for new discoveries in Bruckner.

Andris Nelsons returned to his Shostakovich cycle with an easy-going Sixth Symphony, followed by an exhilarating Suite for Variety Orchestra. Jean-Yves Thibaudet delighted audiences with Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F.

The unclear ideas and the excessive blackness in Thalheimer’s concept failed to convince, but Stoyanov and Joel’s presentation of Verdi’s score made up for those problems.

Philippe Herreweghe deftly coordinated the four vocalists, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and his Collegium Vocale Gent through Beethoven’s challenging score.

In a gilt-edged programme, Iván Fischer and Jean-Yves Thibaudet honoured the audience of the Great Hall with a splendid initiation of the New Year.

Robert Carsen's understated elegance on stage counterbalances Puccini’s highly charged melodrama. 

Christoph Eschenbach returned to the Concertgebouw with another smashing success, leading the London Philharmonic Orchestra in a programme of Beethoven, Brahms, and Rihm.

Following their hugely successful Beethoven and Brahms cycles, Bernard Haitink and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe returned with Schumann’s symphonies and concertos.

The lack of shock value in Calixto Bieito’s interpretation of Wagner's Tannhäuser premiering at the Vlaamse Opera in Ghent could almost be seen as a disappointment. All the more surprising then was the romantic intimacy created in this superlatively sung production.

Impressively, Principal Conductor Nézet-Séguin matched his predecessor, Valery Gergiev, with such high quality Russian repertoire. 

The return of Andris Nelsons for the Seventh in his complete cycle of Shostakovich symphonies with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra demonstrated yet again the marvelous chemistry between the two. 

A refreshing, unconventional reworking of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas by L'Arpeggiata in Utrecht. 

Martyn Brabbins and the Rotterdam Philharmonic took the audience on a journey through our solar system in The Planets: An HD Odyssey.

Ahead of its late-summer tour, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra warms up with two programmes in what are considered high points of the Robeco Summer Nights. 

Ronald Brautigam brought the Kölner Akademie to the Concertgebouw for an ode to Mozart as part of the Robeco Summer Nights Festival. 

In Amsterdam, Joshua Bell led his Academy of St Martin in the Fields on an adventurous, crowd-pleasing journey that demonstrated his ensemble’s versatility.

A performance by Leo van Doeselaar on the Concertgebouw’s Maarschalkerweerd Organ in Saint-Saëns’ Symphony no. overshadows all else in the Concertgebouw.

The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra revealed itself at the Concertgebouw as an important part of the future of classical music in the United States. 

The two Danieles – Gatti and Abbado – triumphed in the final opera of the 78th Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, with a heavenly new production of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande.

Ruth Mackenzie, Holland Festival’s vivacious and invigorating new director, closed her first edition with a twelve hour Prom, reinventing it as a mini-festival at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

Arnoud Noordegraaf’s As Big as the Sky received more than the usual attention at the Holland Festival due to his collaboration with Ai Weiwei.

Outside of the opera pit, Marc Albrecht and his Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra demonstrated their magic at the Concertgebouw.

The Dutch Concert Choir impressed surprisingly in the annual May 4th WWII memorial concert at the Concergebouw, offering an impressive rendition of Hans Kox's rarely performed Anne Frank Cantata and Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony. 

Edward Gardner and Edward Caswell offered the British choir tradition in the form of Elgar's The Kingdom as a refreshingly programmed alternative to the many Bach passions. The combined choirs excelled together with an impressive Edith Haller.

A superlative performance of Shostakovich first violin concerto by Kavakos and lush textures in Gergiev's Wagner turned tonight's concert in a highpoint of the RCO's season.

Mariss Jansons' festive, but poignant, farewell concert with the Royal Concergebouw Orchestra. Thomas Hampson contrasted folksongs by Mahler with Berio and Copland. Afterwards, while Jansons conducted Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra.

Richard Goode returned to Amsterdam with a wonderful performance of Beethoven's final piano sonatas refreshingly performed with six bagatelles from the same period. 

In a diverse programme consisting of Haydn and Pärt, Stephen Layton impressed with his choir Polyphony, while the Britten Sinfonia performed a fine rendition of Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony. 

Marielle and Katia Labèque are reunited with the RCO after more than 15 years in Mozart’s Concerto in E flat for two pianos. 

As a last-minute replacement, Martin Helmchen courageously stepped in to perform Mozart, while veteran Herbert Blomstedt returns with a moving Pathétique. 

An adventurous journey with David Robertson included a superlative and unique performance of Ives's The Unanswered Question and a terrific introduction to Luc Brewaeys and his Symphony no. 6. 

A superlative Berg Violin Concerto with Leonidas Kavakos makes up for disappointing Schumann from Gatti. 

In an exciting programme of Prokofiev, Penderecki and Lutoslawski, two musicians debuted with the Rotterdam Philharmonic. Both impressed greatly.

A rapturous Second Piano Concerto and a towering Fourth Symphony made Bernard Haitink's all-Brahms concert with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe memorable. 

When leaders of their sections perform a concerto with their Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, it generally leads to an evening of excellence.

The final performance of Yannick Nézet-Séguin's Brahms cycle with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is decent, but falls short of the excellence of the other three symphonies he performed. 

In an uneven concert, Alexander Gavrylyuk outshone everyone with his part in Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto, casting a shadow over a fragmented RCO led by Michael Schønwandt in Sibelius and Nielsen.

This evening’s concert, performed by one of Russia’s best choirs, focused on Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil (Vespers) given historical context by works from Kastalsky and Tchaikovsky.