Buscador de artículos | George Slater-Walker

Another low-energy second half let down a strong first in the San Francisans' second appearance at the Proms under Michael Tilson Thomas.

Although Michael Tilson Thomas's reading of Mahler's First Symphony left a little to be desired, Jeremy Denk joined them for an utterly convincing reading of Cowell's Piano Concerto. 

For their first and last ever visit to the Proms, the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg and François-Xavier Roth gave a thrilling concert of 20th-century masterpieces, celebrating a rich history of creative inspiration.

The devil was in the details for the Boston Symphony Orchestra's first Prom this year; even mastering the Albert Hall's acoustic, some unfortunate errors let the side down.

The monumental shadow of Pierre Boulez loomed rather too large over Ravel's Left Hand Concerto and the full Firebird in François-Xavier Roth's detailed readings.

The Philharmonia's rich strings shine in an ultimately incosistent evening of Romantic classics.

Bernard Haitink and the LSO in fine form for an all-Beethoven programme, but the 'Glorious Ninth' fails to impress.

Beethoven gets the mock-period treatment from Michael Sanderling and the Dresden Philharmonic in the first of three concerts at Cadogan Hall.

Gansch and Martineau fail to dazzle in an unchallenging programme of bucolic and playful Lieder.

The Israeli pianist's lyric gift shone above all else in a programme of pianistic heavyweights.

Joshua Bell and other musical heavyweights fail to impress in an evening of Czech chamber works well-known and otherwise.

A monumental recital of passionate classics from some members of classical music's royalty, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

The first of two concerts given by the Britten Sinfonia at the Barbican Hall, with Barbara Hannigan as both singer and conductor.

“the moon has set... I lie alone.” A deeply absorbing new production to the music of Georg Friedrich Haas in the Linbury Studio.

Neo-Romanticism, Modernism, and Post-Modernism run delightfully amok in the second night of the New York Philharmonic's Barbican residency.

With a programme spanning from Bach through Schumann, Cage, all the way to Lera Auerbach and David Lang, Hilary Hahn shows she is on top form alongside pianist Cory Smythe.

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Chief Conductor Mariss Jansons fell just short of excellence in the first concert of their residency at the Barbican, with Bruckner's 4th Symphony alongside Mozart's G Major Violin Concerto (with Frank Peter Zimmermann).

A somewhat disappointing première of Colin Matthews’ Traces Remain could not stifle the abandon and verve of new Principal Conductor Sakari Oramo’s Eroica with the BBCSO at the Barbican.

A concert of music from the beginning of the 20th century with Pons and the BBCSO, including a performance of music by neglected opera composer Franz Schreker.

Wednesday night’s concert saw the London Symphony Orchestra with principal guest conductor Daniel Harding in what seemed a slightly odd programme, pairing Schubert’s Fifth with Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde.

What is there to say about Hector Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette? A “dramatic symphony” in seven movements, featuring small and large choruses, and three soloists (two of whom sing for around five minutes each and one who sings for around 30), as well as a treasure trove of unusual instrumental combinations and sounds, it is safe to say this is something of an odd bird.

A smattering of confused applause greeted gay rights activist Peter Tatchell to the Barbican Hall’s stage before the first instalment of the London Symphony Orchestra’s Berlioz cycle under Valery Gergiev.

I sat down to hear the last concert of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra’s Brahms cycle under Riccardo Chailly at the Barbican with high hopes. Having heard the hype, it seemed that the restrained autumnal shades of the Violin Concerto in D major (with superstar Leonidas Kavakos) and the sheer compositional majesty of the Symphony no.

The second concert of John Lill’s Beethoven piano sonata cycle saw this national treasure back in the form that has earned him his reputation. After a slightly disappointing first outing, it was refreshing to hear such commitment throughout a concert, even in the smaller Piano Sonatas (nos. 3, 6 and 10); never did these earlier works feel lesser than their sprawling companion, Piano Sonata no.

The second concert of the Philharmonia’s Brahms cycle saw Brahms’ orchestra at its richest and most full-blooded. Alongside the burnished, glowing colours of the Haydn Variations were placed the autumnal glow of the Third Symphony and the Concerto for Violin and Cello, Brahms’ final orchestral work, with sibling soloists Christian and Tanja Tetzlaff.

It is often said of British orchestras that their sound lacks the visceral, characterful edge of their colleagues on the continent.

The first of concert of John Lill’s Beethoven piano sonata cycle at Cadogan Hall saw a warhorse of the concert platform performing one of the great warhorses of the piano repertory. Alongside the concluding Op. 57 sonata – the Appassionata – we heard three lesser-known works, namely Op. 10 no. 3 in D, Op. 22 in B flat, and Op. 54 in F, presented in chronological order.

It was only through a litany of roster changes that the Orchestra Mozart’s London debut at the Royal Festival Hall took place at all. Beginning with Claudio Abbado and Martha Argerich down to play Haydn and Mozart, a dual cancellation meant Bernard Haitink and Maria João Pires had to step in at what may as well have been the last minute.

For a performer with a reputation for intelligent, thought-provoking programming, this looked rather an odd selection of works. The first half of this Wigmore Hall recital featured three pieces Inon Barnatan recorded on his 2012 CD Darknesse Visible, charting works based on other works; Debussy on Verlaine, Stevenson on Britten, and Ravel on Poe.

It is rare to find a venue where one can walk from a Cuban big band set (Orquestra Estelar) and into a performance of one of Messiaen’s most transcendental and intimate masterpieces. Rarer still for such a venue to place the latter performance next door to the former in a lecture room entirely lacking in acoustic shielding, so that any noise from outside is clearly audible.

Wednesday night’s Prom saw the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and their principal conductor Kirill Karabits give the fourth instalment of the season’s Tchaikovsky symphony cycle with the sunny, confident Third, in D major. As the programme noted, the D major symphony is somewhat hard to place between the folksy, popular appeal of the first two and the high psychological drama of nos. 4–6.