Jazzy Blue Spirits as Cadenza comes of age at the Fringe

By David Smythe, 16 August 2015

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Reviewed at Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh on 15 August 2015

Todd, Mass in Blue (Scottish première)

Vaughan Williams, Mass in G minor

Tippett, A Child of our Time: Five negro spirituals

Joanna Forbes L'Estrange, Soprano

Will Todd, Piano

Brian Molley Quartet

Cadenza

Philip Redfern, Conductor

Kissin, Bell and Isserlis: remembrance and loss at Carnegie Hall

Edward Sava-Segal, 31st May

Solomon Rosowsky, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky form a matinee programme whose deeper connections gradually came into focus.

****1

Jurowski marks Hans Werner Henze’s centenary at the Elbphilharmonie

Mengguang Huang, 31st May

Vladimir Jurowski and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin deliver a lean, razor-sharp exploration of captivity and survival, balancing Beethoven’s and Brahms’ structural clarity against the devastating, high-fidelity distortion of Henze’s Ninth Symphony.

****1

Mischievous Pan at Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s French May

Christopher Halls, 30th May

French clarinettist Raphaël Sévère unearths beauty in Nielsen’s concerto and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta impress in two settings of Pan’s antics at the French May Festival.

****1

It's a hero's life for Gustavo Dudamel at Disney Hall

Néstor Castiglione, 29th May

Dudamel closes in on the end of his Disney Hall tenure in heroic style with Richard Strauss' tone poem, Ein Heldenleben.

****1

Alsop conducts a substitute Marsalis symphony at Carnegie Hall

David Wolfson, 29th May

The premiere of Wynton Marsalis’ Symphony no. 5 is postponed, substituted by selections from his Jungle Symphony, along with a disappointing Beethoven’s Seventh at Carnegie Hall.

***11

An azure secret: Yunchan Lim’s star power at Wigmore Hall

Asher Rubenstein, 29th May

The Korean pianist astonishes in Schubert and Scriabin, in a performance sure to be a highlight of Wigmore Hall’s 125th anniversary festivities.

*****

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David Smythe

David the farmer was drawn into music through choirs, orchestras, taking part in and directing 'serious' opera as a student. Passionate about live classical music, particularly chamber opera, unusual pieces and events and giving the next generation the tools to engage with the classical world.

Jazzy Blue Spirits as Cadenza comes of age at the Edinburgh Fringe