Handel’s opera Radamisto received a welcome staging at the English National Opera last Thursday, following on from their successful productions of Agrippina and Partenope in recent years.
The cellist Natalie Clein was at the centre of this concert of Schumann’s chamber music, given as a part of the Schumann bicentenary celebrations at Kings Place. The programme explored works from different periods of Schumann’s creative life: two works for cello and piano from 1849, the turbulent Piano Trio No. 3 in G minor from 1851, and the joyous Piano Quartet in E flat major from 1842.
I had been greatly looking forward to hearing the Russian violinist Ilya Gringolts at the Wigmore Hall lunchtime recital. A former BBC New Generation Artist, as was his pianist Ashley Wass, I considered him a major talent back then, but hadn’t heard his performance for a while. Happily, he did not disappoint.
For the late night prom on Monday, the French early music group Ensemble Matheus led by the flamboyant violinist/director Jean-Christophe Spinosi brought an entertaining and well-juxtaposed programme of baroque arias and concertos starring French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux.
Early music ensembles have become an established feature in the late night prom slot. In the calm and relaxed late night setting, the warm, articulate sound of period instruments can create a wonderful intimacy within the vast space of the Royal Albert Hall.
