Review Wigmore Hall: John Williams

Looking at its past, its present and its future, the Boston Symphony returns to Symphony Hall after the Covid hiatus. 

On entering St George’s Bristol, we were given a sheet of paper with a biography and the names of a handful of composers – the programme hadn’t been announced beforehand, and was only revealed during the concert by John Williams himself. He introduced each piece with a little context, varying from a piece’s personal relevance, to its historical background.

It is quite a daunting task to assess the performance of someone like John Williams. Certainly one of the finest and most famous living classical guitarists in the world, he seems something of a colossus of the instrument. Yet the manner he exuded as he entered the stage of St. George’s was of understated familiarity.

Philippe Herreweghe ofreció una versión de la Pasión según san Mateo al frente del coro y la orquesta Collegium Vocale Gent de notable factura, emocionante y extremadamente expresiva.

Anna Vinnitskaya ofreció recital tremendo en el que nos llevó de la minuciosidad de Ravel a la intimidad de Brahms, pasando por el dramatismo de Scriabin y la complejidad de Rajmáninov con virtuosismo y emoción.

Una interpretación preciosista sobre la herencia musical e historiográfica, llevada a cabo con precisión y claridad por Le Concert des Nations y La Capella Nacional de Catalunya.