UK premiere of Julia Wolfe’s unEarth impresses on scale, not substance

Julia Wolfe's unEarth performed by the BBCSO

Else Torp

Martyn Brabbins

Por Susannah Moody, 26 enero 2026

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“the orchestra reached a frenetic urgency reflective of the climate crisis”

Crítica hecha desde Barbican Hall, Londres el 23 enero 2026

Wolfe, unEarth

Anne Kauffman, Dirección de escena

Lucy Mackinnon, Videoarte

Ben Stanton, Diseño de iluminación

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Else Torp, Soprano

BBC Singers

National Youth Choir of Great Britain

Martyn Brabbins, Dirección

Sakari Oramo and Yeol Eum Son summon up vivid landscapes

Christopher Woodley, 13th March

Yeol Eum Son's superb performances of Bartók and Finzi are matched by intense and heady readings of Stravinsky and Weir by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo.

****1

From snow to sludge: Icelandic music at the Barbican Centre

Marat Ingeldeev, 22nd February

A bewildering evening at the Barbican, where ambitious Icelandic programming collapses under its lofty ambition of defying genres and making music more appealing to a wide variety of audiences.

**111

Fine Lindberg and Stravinsky double bill from the BBC Symphony

Roy Westbrook, 6th February

After a performance of Magnus Lindberg’s First Violin Concerto by Lisa Batiashvili at the Barbican, Stravinsky’s Perséphone stands the test of time.

****1

Sir James MacMillan delights with his Christmas Oratorio

David Karlin, 19th December

MacMillan's large scale choral work offers a rich variety of texts and musical ideas, the composer conducts the BBC Symphony with unerring precision.

*****

Ermonela Jaho gives a tragic twist to Puccini's La rondine

Peter Quantrill, 5th December

A new edition of Puccini's score springs to life in a meticulously prepared Opera Rara concert performance at the Barbican.

****1

Choose life: Oramo's Mahler 9 leaves death for the last page

Peter Quantrill, 4th October

The BBC Symphony Orchestra opens its season at the Barbican on top form in Mahler's last completed symphony.

****1

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Susannah Moody

A London-based journalist and ex-lawyer, Susannah will cheerfully listen to most styles of music. Having trained as an operatic soprano through school and university, she has worked for several opera companies and set up a student opera company where she translated, directed and performed in productions including flash mob opera. Most recently she took part in the ENO Response programme reviewing the company's 2022-2023 season. She also writes about food as The Moody Foodie.