Aux Mahler de Gergiev (2) : bienheureuse Symphonie des Mille

By Tristan Labouret, 20 February 2019

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“L’inaccessible, ici, n’est plus hors d’atteinte”

Reviewed at Philharmonie de Paris: Grande salle Pierre Boulez, Paris on 17 February 2019

Mahler, Symphony no. 8 in E flat major "Symphony of a Thousand"

Munich Philharmonic Orchestra

Valery Gergiev, Conductor

Simone Schneider, Soprano

Jacquelyn Wagner, Soprano

Regula Mühlemann, Soprano

Claudia Mahnke, Mezzo-soprano

Katharina Magiera, Mezzo-soprano

Simon O'Neill, Tenor

Michael Nagy, Baritone

Evgeny Nikitin, Bass-baritone

Munich Philharmonic Choir

Andreas Herrmann, Choirmaster / chorus director

Orfeón Donostiarra

José Antonio Sainz Alfaro, Choirmaster / chorus director

Augsburger Domsingknaben

Reinhard Kammler, Choirmaster / chorus director

Johannes Berger, Organ

Spacious Prokofiev from Seong-Jin Cho and the Munich Philharmonic

SangKwon Lee, 6th May

Seong-Jin Cho’s premise in Prokofiev is compelling – to reconcile Russian gravitational attack and monumental construction with clarity, colour and contrapuntal legibility.

***11

At home in Hamburg: Munich Philharmonic at the Elbphilharmonie

Mengguang Huang, 6th February

Lahav Shani offers fresh perspectives on Debussy, Mozart and Schoenberg, favouring structural clarity and youthful energy over traditional late-Romantic weight and atmospheric suggestion.

***11

Zubin Mehta brings the Munich Philharmonic to Carnegie Hall for Brahms

Edward Sava-Segal, 3rd February

Yefim Bronfman reunites with his old collaborator for Brahms' First Piano Concerto, reinforcing the qualities that exemplify him as a great chamber music player.

****1

A proficient but flawed opening at Dvořák’s Prague

Frank Kuznik, 8th September

Myung-whun Chung and Pablo Ferrández shine separately, but never quite get on the same page.

***11

Child's play: Crumb and Strauss make unconventional bedfellows

Matthew Rye, 12th November

Zubin Mehta brought together works by George Crumb and Richard Strauss in his latest concert as the Munich Philharmonic's honorary conductor.

****1

Grand Romantic statements from Gergiev at the Enescu Festival

Edward Sava-Segal, 6th September

Two giants of the Romantic repertoire that were met with disdain by Eduard Hanslick at their premieres are given persuasive readings in Bucharest.

****1

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Tristan Labouret

Musicologue diplômé du CNSMD de Paris, Tristan Labouret collabore avec de nombreux artistes et institutions musicales (Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, Orchestre national d'Île-de-France, Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier, festivals de musique de chambre de Deauville, Just Classik Festival…), menant des activités de médiation à destination de tous les publics. Ex-altiste toujours passionné par les répertoires chambristes et symphoniques, il occupe depuis 2018 le poste de rédacteur en chef de la partie francophone de Bachtrack.