Fabien Gabel and the Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec present inventive and colorful musical pictures by Schmitt, El-Khoury, Honegger, Zappa and Richard Strauss.
A religious-themed program made for a particularly moving Easter weekend concert from Dutoit and the CSO, highlighted by the serenity of Fauré’s Requiem.
With a new and revolutionary staging by Romeo Castellucci, Lyon Opera presents a radical analysis of a symbolic figure often subject to ideological takeover; Kazushi Ono’s sympathetic direction makes Arthur Honegger and Paul Claudel’s work into something sublime while preserving its mysterious spirituality.
Lapland Chamber Orchestra debuts at the Proms with a brilliant performance ranging from unusual classical pieces such as Sibelius’s intimate and tender Rakastava to disturbing contemporary pieces by Birtwistle and Davies.
Joan of Arc endures even today as one of history’s most obsessed-about martyrs. It’s no wonder when you consider that her story is of such uniqueness and potency: a poor, low-born French villager submerged in a war-battered France; it was the Hundred Years’ War, and as a child she witnessed several raids, both military and outlaw, and on one occasion saw her village burned.
Regeneration is currently at the heart of everything that goes on inside the beautifully preserved Charlton House. Built between 1607 and 1612 by Sir Adam Newton, the building and its grounds remain a fine example of Jacobean domestic architecture.
When I collected my ticket for this evening’s Late Mix concert in Hall Two of The Sage Gateshead, I was somewhat surprised to see it marked as unreserved seating. A computer glitch, I thought, until I walked into the hall and found that the usual rows of seats in this small, in-the-round auditorium had been replaced with café-style tables and chairs.
The short life and terrifying death of Joan of Arc are the subject of Arthur Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher ("Joan of Arc at the Stake"), a curious masterpiece of an oratorio dating from 1938. The nearly-forgotten work received a well-deserved resurrection by Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on Saturday night.
Oliver Knussen has taken the BBC Symphony Orchestra on some interesting journeys during his relationship with them, as both composer and conductor. Of all these journeys, Prom 19 surely ranks among the most fascinating. Under Knussen’s masterful conducting, the orchestra and Claire Booth gave us a scintillating if sometimes overwhelming exhibition of six intense early Twentieth Century works.
Leif Ove Andsnes founded the Risør Festival only nine years ago, but it's already an important part of the European calendar. Risør is unique because it's a musicians' festival. Everyone gets together in this small Norwegian town, no matter how famous they are. This atmosphere's great for chamber music, so the Wigmore Hall is an ideal second home for Risør in London.
Ein vielschichtiger Konzertabend mit dem Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, der aktuelle Werke aus der Zeit um den zweiten Weltkrieg wirkungsvoll kombiniert.
Das Rundfunkorchester, der BR-Chor und Howard Arman eröffneten „Paradisi Gloria“ in der Herz-Jesu-Kirche München mit umjubeltem Konzertprogramm von Caplet, Milhaud und Honegger.
Pour l’Orchestre Français des Jeunes, dont les effectifs sont renouvelés chaque année, ce concert à la Cité de la Musique était le dernier de la saison, après un mois de travail estival et deux tournées en France et en Europe. Le temps de la scène fut donc également, pour les jeunes musiciens, celui des adieux ; mais ils furent de ceux qui réjouissent, la ferveur du moment se conjugant au plaisir du jeu.
Pour cette œuvre si particulière, la salle de la Halle aux Grains était poussée dans ses retranchements physiques, ouvrant l’arrière-scène, son balcon, et la fosse à orchestre afin d’accueillir presque deux cents musiciens.
