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The Oxford Philharmonic offers uninspiring renditions Bach and Mendelssohn, highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses of the orchestra under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach. 

When did three such luminaries last grace the same concert, let alone the same first half?

Impeccable musicianship from the string soloists of the Oxford Philhamonic in stirring accounts of Brahms' String Sextet in G major and Strauss' Metamorphosen.

I suspect that we seek out many of the world’s great soloists beacuse we know what we will get, but we might well seek out Buniatishvili because we don’t.

Valery Gergiev's late withdrawal meant Marios Papadopoulos, music director of the Oxford Philharmonic, stepped into the Russian's shoes. 

Oxford may well be far from the coast, but it played host to a bracing French voyage last night at the Sheldonian Theatre.

Fifty years on, Argerich is still the legendary tigress of the keyboard, yet more besides.

In the first of two performances of this concert, St. George’s welcomed Michael Barenboim and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, previously known as the Oxford Philomusica.

After Marios Papadopoulos' propulsive account of Brahms' Third Symphony, Nigel Kennedy joined the Oxford Philomusica to give an unpredictable and inconsistent performance of Beethoven's Violin Concerto.

In his introduction to the programme, the orchestra’s Music Director Marios Papadopoulos says that it is the energy in Beethoven’s music which captures his attention, and this was certainly conveyed in the Oxford Philomusica’s performance of the piece.

After Renée Fleming was forced to withdraw due to a family emergency, soprano Sylvia Schwartz stepped in to perform with the Oxford Philomusica on the way to the Vienna Staatsoper. At just two days’ notice, Korngold, Zandonai and Leoncavallo were traded for Puccini, Verdi and Lehár.

Oxford becomes much quieter outside of the university terms, and this was reflected in audience numbers for Saturday’s concert. Although the evening did not pan out as expected, those who were in the Sheldonian still came away having heard some brilliant performances.

Just a few weeks after the announcement that Oxford would be hosting the UK’s first major Stradivari exhibition this June, Maxim Vengerov gave a phenomenal performance on one of the Italian craftsman’s instruments. Performing on the ex-Kreutzer instrument made in 1727, Vengerov’s performance with the Oxford Philomusica was unforgettable.

Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre was nearly full for the concert on Thursday night. Billed “Russian Greats”, the programme mixed the familiar fare of Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich with a world première by the Oxford-based composer Chris Garrard.

The level of anticipation for Saturday’s Oxford Philomusica concert was high, although not necessarily for the reasons you might expect: several minutes passed after tuning before the concertmaster emerged from the wings of Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre. Although the Sheldonian may be somewhat lacking acoustically, the building’s grandeur more than makes up for it.

The Oxford International Piano Festival comprises a two-week long series of workshops and concerts, hosted by Oxford Philomusica and featuring pianists of international esteem, among them Andreas Haefliger and Sergei Babayan. It was Menahem Pressler, now in his 88th year, who gave the closing piano masterclasses and performed in the closing concert at the Sheldonian Theatre.

It seems unfair to label a young conductor a 'discovery', especially since most young conductors labour tirelessly for many years prior to achieving wider recognition. But that's what Daniel Cohen was for me: a discovery, and a very pleasing one at that.

Standing ovation after standing ovation. The packed hall at St George’s received a treat in form of an evening of Haydn played by fantastic musicians. The stage was filled with energy from start to end in a programme, from the Oxford Philomusica’s ‘Best of Haydn’ series, which displayed a variety of Joseph Haydn’s works.