Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Benjamin

Ensemble Modern the ultimate precision instrument at the Concertgebouw

By Eleanor Knight, 16 September 2023

Sir George Benjamin conducts Ligeti and his own Into the Little Hill at the Concertgebouw.

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Amsterdam

18 Sep 2023

Ensemble Modern the ultimate precision instrument in Amsterdam

By Eleanor Knight

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Sounds of nature: Sir George Benjamin conducts Francesco Filidei world premiere in Berlin

By Elena Luporini, 03 September 2023

At the Musikfest Berlin, Sir George Benjamin and the Ensemble Modern present an all-contemporary programme reflecting on nature, including Cantico delle Creature.

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Berlin

06 Sep 2023

Sounds of nature: Francesco Filidei world premiere in Berlin

By Elena Luporini

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Oslo

Young singers on stage in Oslo: the Queen Sonja Singing Competition final

By Laura Servidei, 26 August 2023

Six talented finalists light up the final of the prestigious Norwegian singing competition

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Oslo

28 Aug 2023

Young singers on stage in Oslo: Queen Sonja Singing Competition final

By Laura Servidei

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Aix-en-Provence

Lessons in grief: Benjamin and Crimp’s Picture a day like this triumphs in Aix

By David Karlin, 05 July 2023

Sir George Benjamin and Martin Crimp’s fourth opera shares the best qualities of their previous work but is an inspiring, breathtaking fable.

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Aix-en-Provence

06 Jul 2023

Lessons in grief: Picture a day like this triumphs in Aix

By David Karlin

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Zurich

Lessons in Love and Violence in Zurich: gorgeous tragedy without a heart

By Elodie Olson-Coons, 21 May 2023

Given a new production by Evgeny Titov, Benjamin's second full-length opera is musically brilliant, but its examination of our inner darkness lacks heart.

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Zurich

22 May 2023

Lessons in Love and Violence: gorgeous tragedy without a heart

By Elodie Olson-Coons

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Sparks fly in Rachmaninov with Edward Gardner and the LPO

By Alexander Hall, 04 March 2023

Hands up if you want lush Russian romanticism, delivered in impeccable style by the LPO and Edward Gardner. Leif Ove Andsnes offers welcome freshness in Grieg.

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London

05 Mar 2023

Sparks fly in Rachmaninov with Edward Gardner and the LPO

By Alexander Hall

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Hamburg

Rhythm, colour, texture: the Mahler Chamber Orchestra at the Elbphilharmonie

By Alexander Hall, 07 September 2020

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra takes to the road again with a 20th-century programme of music by Janáček and Ravel, with Sir George Benjamin conducting Pierre-Laurent Aimard in one of his own compositions.

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Hamburg

08 Sep 2020

Rhythm, colour and texture at the Elbphilharmonie

By Alexander Hall

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Madrid

La Veronal heads Into the Little Hill in Madrid

By John Marten Barnard, 15 February 2020

The Teatros del Canal host the Benjamin–Crimp partnership’s thrillingly dark, lyric retelling of Robert Browning’s famous 1842 poem The Pied Piper of Hamelin by La Veronal dance company.

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Madrid

17 Feb 2020

La Veronal heads Into the Little Hill in Madrid

By John Marten Barnard

Miami Beach

A relevance of violas in Miami Beach

By Laurence Vittes, 17 October 2019

In a world for which Neharo't Neharo't had suddenly become painfully relevant once again: the man lamenting his love in the gentle ending could have been lamenting the Kurds.

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Miami Beach

18 Oct 2019

A relevance of violas in Miami Beach

By Laurence Vittes

Blazing colours and dark intensity from Ensemble Modern at the Roundhouse

By Benjamin Poore, 06 March 2019

Bold and colourful invocations of twentieth-century classics from Ensemble Modern and composer George Benjamin.

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London

08 Mar 2019

Ensemble Modern at the Roundhouse

By Benjamin Poore

Tales of the unexpected: Ticciati and Tetzlaff at the Philharmonie

By Hugo Shirley, 16 November 2018

Robin Ticciati and the DSO bring a strong sense of purpose to Rachmaninov's Second Symphony and Christian Tetzlaff explores the extremes of Beethoven's Violin Concerto.

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Berlin

19 Nov 2018

Tales of the unexpected: Ticciati and Tetzlaff at the Philharmonie

By Hugo Shirley

Written on Skin: A modern operatic classic makes Berlin debut

By Sam Johnstone, 12 November 2018

With a semi-staged production, directed by Benjamin Davis, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra has also been bringing George Benjamin's opera to concert hall audiences.

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Berlin

15 Nov 2018

Written on Skin: A modern operatic classic makes Berlin debut

By Sam Johnstone

Lessons in Love and Violence: icy beauty and dramatic tension

By David Karlin, 10 May 2018

George Benjamin and Martin Crimp's second full scale opera is a refinement of the craft showed in Written on Skin – but the lessons are less in love and violince than in power, tension and beauty of the score.

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London

11 May 2018

Lessons in Love and Violence: ice and drama

By David Karlin

Birmingham

Reflections on Claude: Gražinytė-Tyla’s Debussy Festival in Birmingham

By Mark Pullinger, 25 March 2018

With concerts and recitals imaginatively programmed, this second weekend in the CBSO's Debussy Festival was a model of how to make classical music accessible to the widest possible audience.

Birmingham

25 Mar 2018

Gražinytė-Tyla‘s Debussy Festival in Birmingham

By Mark Pullinger

Philadelphia

Sex, angels and cannibalism: Written on Skin at Opera Philadelphia

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz, 16 February 2018

Written on Skin is a cold but effective opera full of musical and dramatic energy. Opera Philadelphia's new staging and talented young cast do it justice.

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Philadelphia

17 Feb 2018

Sex, angels and cannibalism: Written on Skin

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz

Boston

The French Connection: Ravel, Benjamin and Berlioz with the Boston Symphony

By Kevin Wells, 11 February 2017

Andris Nelsons' program pays homage to two touchstones of the French repertory with the Boston Symphony: Henri Rabaud and Pierre Monteux.

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Boston

15 Feb 2017

The French Connection with the Boston Symphony

By Kevin Wells

A grisly love triangle: Written on Skin returns to Covent Garden

By David Karlin, 13 January 2017

The Royal Opera's first revival of George Benjamin's medieval shocker is characterised by stellar singing performances, notably from Barbara Hannigan and Iestyn Davies.

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London

14 Jan 2017

A grisly love triangle: Written on Skin

By David Karlin

Signed off with an orchestral flourish: Written on Skin at the Barbican

By Mark Pullinger, 19 March 2016

Shorn of Katie Mitchell’s production and presented on the Barbican Hall’s stage with only the occasional prop, George Benjamin's modern masterpiece Written on Skin came across with even greater intensity.

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London

20 Mar 2016

Signed off with an orchestral flourish: Written on Skin

By Mark Pullinger

A dream-inspired cocktail of works from Knussen and Benjamin

By David Truslove, 18 March 2016

A programme of personal choices curated by George Benjamin in collaboration with Oliver Knussen – that didn’t quite hang together but with two UK premières it was a fascinating evening.

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London

21 Mar 2016

A dream-inspired cocktail of works from Knussen and Benjamin

By David Truslove

New York City

The Messiaen Connection; or, How to Inspire "Egg-Makers" by Esa-Pekka Salonen and musicians of the New York Philharmonic

By Jacob Slattery, 07 March 2016

As part of the New York Philharmonic’s CONTACT new music series at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, Esa-Pekka Salonen drew connections among Olivier Messiaen, two of his students (Pierre Boulez and George Benjamin) and one outlier (Oliver Knussen).

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New York City

09 Mar 2016

The Messiaen Connection: Salonen and members of the NY Phil

By Jacob Slattery

New York City

Pierre-Laurent Aimard: an overambitious recital at Mostly Mozart Festival

By Rebecca Lentjes, 17 August 2015

The concert, which was part of Mostly Mozart’s “A Little Night Music” series of late-night events, was comprised of six preludes, six canons, and George Benjamin’s 2001 composition Shadowlines, six canonic preludes for the piano that were written for Aimard.

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New York City

19 Aug 2015

An overambitious recital at Mostly Mozart Festival

By Rebecca Lentjes

New York City

Written on Skin at Mostly Mozart Festival: a primeval experience

By Robert Levine, 11 August 2015

First seen at the innovative, fearless Aix-en-Provence festival three summers ago, George Benjamin’s riveting, grisly Written on Skin has arrived in New York.

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New York City

12 Aug 2015

Written on Skin: a primeval experience

By Robert Levine

A Showcase of Soundscapes: George Benjamin at the Concertgebouw

By David Pinedo, 20 June 2014

George Benjamin conducts his explosive orchestral debut in Amsterdam, while exploring some other vastly different soundscapes in a large orchestral setting.

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Amsterdam

24 Jun 2014

A Showcase of Soundscapes: George Benjamin at the Concertgebouw

By David Pinedo

Sydney

Outstanding performances by Sydney Chamber Opera at Sydney Festival

By David Larkin, 18 January 2014

Sydney Chamber Opera deliver a thrilling double-bill of works by Kurtág and Benjamin under the direction of Jack Symonds, at the Sydney Festival 2014.

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Sydney

21 Jan 2014

Sydney Festival: Sydney Chamber Opera

By David Larkin

BCMG's Into the Little Hill on George Benjamin Day at Wigmore Hall

By Paul Kilbey, 06 April 2013

“All music – smiles the minister – is incidental.” So says one of the two singers in George Benjamin and Martin Crimp’s Into the Little Hill, performed to perfection in Wigmore Hall by Birmingham Contemporary Music Group this Saturday.

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London

08 Apr 2013

BCMG's Into the Little Hill on George Benjamin Day at Wigmore Hall

By Paul Kilbey

New opera, ancient tales: George Benjamin's Written on skin at the Royal Opera

By David Karlin, 08 March 2013

21st century opera is a broad church. There aren’t many of us, I suppose, who are intimately familiar with the biographical accounts of the lives of 13th century troubadours, popular at the time in Spain and south west France. But Martin Crimp and George Benjamin, librettist and composer of Written on skin, aren’t exactly run of the mill people.

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London

08 Apr 2013

New opera, ancient tales: George Benjamin's Written on skin at the Royal Opera

By David Karlin

Edinburgh

Hebrides Ensemble: Eight Songs for a Mad King

By Alan Coady, 15 November 2012

The Jam House is a jazz and blues club occupying the BBC’s former Queen Street Studios in Edinburgh. Now owned by Jools Holland and designer Neil Tabbitt, its spacious Georgian interior is occasionally given over to theatrical and musical events.

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Edinburgh

16 Nov 2012

Hebrides Ensemble: Eight Songs for a Mad King

By Alan Coady

London Contemporary Orchestra Soloists at the Royal Albert Hall

By Paul Kilbey, 10 July 2012

Contemporary classical music is happening in all manner of unexpected venues in London at the moment, from Peckham car parks to pubs. But it isn't just getting edgier – it's also getting more respectable, if last night's suave affair in the Royal Albert Hall's Elgar Room is anything to go by.

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London

05 Sep 2012

London Contemporary Orchestra Soloists at the Royal Albert Hall

By Paul Kilbey

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Geniales Orchesterprogramm mit George Benjamin und dem Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

By Michael Klier, 01 December 2023

Sir George Benjamin begeistert mit Werken von Oliver Knussen, Unsuk Chin, Igor Strawinsky und György Ligeti.

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Amsterdam

03 Dec 2023

Geniales Orchesterprogramm mit dem Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

By Michael Klier

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Sir George Benjamin et Cédric Tiberghien, Duet exemplaire à la Philharmonie de Berlin

By Emma Granier, 22 May 2022

Le programme choisi par Sir George Benjamin pour le DSO nous plonge dans les théories modernes de l’utilisation du son orchestral, de Paul Dukas à Benjamin lui-même, avec le concours efficace de Cédric Tiberghien.

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Berlin

25 May 2022

Sir George Benjamin et Cédric Tiberghien, Duet exemplaire à Berlin

By Emma Granier

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Barcelona

La condición humana en Lessons in Love and Violence del Liceu

By Maria Sánchez, 26 February 2021

Gran despliegue orquestal para el estreno de la última obra de George Benjamin, quien evoca las maniobras del poder y el amor con una partitura reflexiva e intimista.

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Barcelona

28 Feb 2021

La condición humana en Lessons in Love and Violence del Liceu

By Maria Sánchez

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Cologne

Liebe ist eine Tat: Written on Skin an der Oper Köln

By Alexandra Richter, 01 December 2020

Die Oper Köln präsentiert George Benjamins fesselnde und aufrührende Oper in einer Live-Übertragung.

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Cologne

02 Dec 2020

Liebe ist eine Tat: Written on Skin an der Oper Köln

By Alexandra Richter

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Into the Little Hill : George Benjamin clôt le Festival Présences 2020

By Julius Lay, 16 February 2020

Pour conclure le Festival Présences, quoi de mieux que des percussions et de l'opéra ? Avec des créations de Bastien David et Isabel Mundry par l'Ensemble intercontemporain, voici la fin du portrait de George Benjamin.

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Paris

19 Feb 2020

Into the Little Hill : George Benjamin clôt Présences 2020

By Julius Lay

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Florent Boffard, maître de l'espace et du temps à la Maison de la Radio

By Alain Lompech, 15 February 2020

Le pianiste emporte son auditoire dans un récital ensorcelant, avec cet effacement dans la présence qui est le secret des maîtres.

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Paris

17 Feb 2020

Florent Boffard, maître de l'espace et du temps au Festival Présences

By Alain Lompech

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À la Philharmonie, Written on skin s'affirme comme le chef-d'œuvre de George Benjamin

By Clara Leonardi, 14 February 2020

Clou du festival Présences qui lui est consacré, George Benjamin dirige un Written on skin bouleversant à la Philharmonie, qui rappelle avant tout la richesse de l'écriture orchestrale du compositeur.

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Paris

16 Feb 2020

Written on skin, chef-d'œuvre de George Benjamin à la Philharmonie

By Clara Leonardi

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Songs without voices : dialogue entre Benjamin et Knussen au Festival Présences

By Apolline Gouzi, 09 February 2020

Lors du sixième concert du Festival Présences, le London Sinfonietta a interprété avec assurance et sensibilité un programme varié, construit autour de l’amitié entre les compositeurs George Benjamin et Oliver Knussen.

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Paris

10 Feb 2020

Songs without voices : dialogue entre Benjamin et Knussen à Présences

By Apolline Gouzi

Erklär mir, Liebe: George Benjamins Written on Skin geht unter die Haut

By Michael Klier, 28 June 2018

Die Dreiecksbeziehung mit tragischem Ausgang wurde von einem vollblütigen Sängerensemble und dem außergewöhnlich engagiert spielenden Mahler Chamber Orchestra getragen.

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Amsterdam

30 Jun 2018

George Benjamins Written on Skin geht unter die Haut

By Michael Klier

Lessons in Love and Violence: George Benjamins neue Oper über Angst und Entsetzen im politischen Alltag

By Michael Klier, 25 June 2018

George Benjamins neue Oper beschreibt eindringlich einen durch Liebe hilflosen König – Hannigan und Degout füllen die tiefgründige Musik mit hingebungsvollem Emotionsspiel.

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Amsterdam

26 Jun 2018

Lessons in Love and Violence für den politischen Alltag

By Michael Klier

Munich

Fragen im Zeitalter der Angst: Kent Nagano zu Gast bei den Münchner Philharmonikern

By David Renke, 15 March 2017

Kent Nagano und die Münchner Philharmoniker begeistern mit einem modernen Programm, das in der aktuellen unsicheren Weltlage Möglichkeit zur Reflexion geben soll.

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Munich

16 Mar 2017

Fragen im Zeitalter der Angst

By David Renke