A bazaar performance underscores Istanbul’s Unusual Music Festival

By Jonathan Sutherland, 08 June 2017

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“there is a surprisingly calming effect in this mystical, magical music”

Reviewed at Grand Bazaar, Istanbul on 4 June 2017

Şimdi Ensemble

Michel Godard, Serpent

Hilary Hahn’s French odyssey of refinement and fire in Dublin

Andrew Larkin, 14th May

Two technical mishaps punctuate the evening, but Hilary Hahn maintains poise throughout a French programme crowned by a finely judged, deeply expressive performance of Fauré.

****1

Frank Dupree's Liverpool debut has the audience crying out for more

Glyn Mon Hughes, 14th May

A concert celebrating the 250th anniversary of the USA saw Liverpool audiences treated to a sumptuous Copland as well as a symphony as well as a barn-storming performance of Gershwin and Duke Ellington, performed by Frank Dupree who was making his debut with the RLPO.

*****

Energetic Currentzis and Utopia at the Elbphilharmonie

Mengguang Huang, 12th May

From Berg’s crystalline intimacy to Dionysian Mahler, Teodor Currentzis and Utopia defy orchestral tradition with standing musicians, spatial acoustics and an emotional intensity that breathes new life into the concert life.

****1

Petr Popelka delivers a thrilling opening for Prague Spring

Frank Kuznik, 12th May

With Petr Popelka on the podium, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra brings a native feel and colorful exuberance to a cultural icon.

****1

Korngold and Mahler from Ray Chen, Vasily Petrenko and the RPO

Roy Westbrook, 12th May

Few violin concertos soar from the first bar as Erich Korngold’s does, especially as in Ray Chen's high-wire account at the Royal Albert Hall.

****1

Clara Yang’s immersive piano recital gets lost in the clouds

Kurt Gottschalk, 11th May

Prerecorded acoustic guitar, soft beats and more piano accompany video of jittery yellow circles and masses of illegible text in a concert that feels both meditative and too much to take in

**111

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Jonathan Sutherland

Jonathan Sutherland is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg. He is also an internationally renowned concert pianist specializing in the music of the 1930s. Jonathan’s first operatic experience was hearing Maria Callas sing Tosca in Covent Garden and he has since heard performances in all continents of the world including over 60 different productions at the Wiener Staatsoper. He has written for The Australian, Opera Today and The Opera Critic as well as Bachtrack. Jonathan speaks English, French, German and Italian fluently and is based in the south of France near Nice.