Articles by Leopold Tobisch

Five hours of repetitive music on a Sunday evening may be a hellish way for some to end the week; fortunately, I belong in the second category. A concert series named “Steve Reich Unlimited” therefore required no further selling points.

Philip Glass performs his music to the film Dracula, alongside the Kronos Quartet at the Philharmonie de Paris.

Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker's Counter Phrases at the Philharmonie 2 in Paris.

Max Richter's rethinking of Vivaldi impresses at the Paris Philharmonie. 

Fazıl Say plays at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées.

Laurie Anderson takes us on a dizzying journey in her weirdly wonderful Landfall, performed with the Kronos Quartet.

A virtuosic performance from Nemanja Radulović of Paganini was the highlight of Fabien Gabel's concert with the Orchestre national d'Île-de-France.

Leopold Tobisch's future expectations have been raised to a dizzying high by Kristjan Järvi and the Baltic Sea Youth Philharmonic at the Theatre des Champs Elysées.

Jean Rondeau is now taking the French radio and concert halls by storm, quickly making a name for himself and his mastery of the harpsichord. 

Paris and accordions have a very unique relationship, almost “Marmite” in nature: tourists love it, locals hate it.

The Silk Road Ensemble is not one musical tradition, not one culture, but rather one single point where a multitude of cultures and musical heritages are united and combined. 

A rich variety of works by Steve Reich form an enthralling concert from Kristjan Järvi and the MDR Rundfunk orchestra at the Salle Pleyel.

Péter Eötvös conducts the WDR choir and the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Stockhausen at the Cité de la Musique.

Part of a festival exploring technological innovations moving “beyond” the piano, Aufgang and Brandt Brauer Frick presented an evening of music in Paris that didn’t reinvent the instrument in quite the expected way.

Under the artistic and musical direction of Olivier Py and Philippe Jordan, Verdi’s opera has ignited a veritable storm of both fervent criticism and ardent defence.

Bang on a Can All-Stars are by no means small fish in a big pond. Their work within the world of minimalist and contemporary music, as well as their collaboration with some of the biggest names in 20th-century music, has made of them today a name respected by any fan of John Cage, Steve Reich, Terry Riley or Brian Eno (to name but a few of the best).

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” These wise words have fortunately not fallen on deaf ears at the Opéra de Paris, who have brought back their production of Leoš Janáček’s The Makropulos Affair, directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski and designed by Małgorzata Szczęśniak, first presented in Paris back in 2007.

Whilst a celebratory centenary performance of Stravinsky’s masterful The Rite of Spring has already been planned next month on the very evening of the work’s première, another performance of the work has recently captured the imagination of Paris’ music and dance aficionados: Stravinsky en mode hip hop (“Stravinsky, hip-hop style”).

Writing a positive review is not an easy task. When confronted with something lacking error, a review can go one of two ways: a brief and simple praise of all involved and a summary of the evening, or an over-the-top full-blown confession of awe and admiration. Spoiler alert: this review is the latter.

Bach’s Passion according to St John the Evangelist is not an easy work. Whilst saying I am a “fan” of Bach is one of the greatest understatements possible, this Passion is nonetheless an intense work for any concert-goer (seasoned or amateur) including myself. Over two hours in length, it is a test on both the audience and, quite obviously, the performers.