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Raising the spirits: Isabelle Faust, Duncan Ward and the London Symphony Orchestra

By Chris Garlick, 23 November 2023

Duncan Ward leads a varied programme from Bartók and Janáček to Chausson, closing with a benchmark performance of La Mer.

*****

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*****

London

24 Nov 2023

Raising the spirits: Isabelle Faust, Duncan Ward and the LSO

By Chris Garlick

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London

An Adès concerto steals the show: Gerstein, Pappano and the LSO

By Alexander Hall, 12 October 2023

Kirill Gerstein, together with Sir Antonio Pappano and the LSO, delivers a coruscating performance of what is rapidly becoming a 21st-century classic, framed by Bartók and Beethoven.

***11

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***11

London

13 Oct 2023

An Adès concerto steals the show: Gerstein, Pappano and the LSO

By Alexander Hall

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London

Pianistic delights in Liszt from Alice Sara Ott with Pappano and the LSO

By Alexander Hall, 04 October 2023

A world premiere from Hannah Kendall, a rarely performed work by Liszt and one of Strauss' glittering tone poems make up Pappano's first concert as the LSO's Chief Conductor Designate.

***11

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***11

London

05 Oct 2023

Pianistic delights in Liszt from Alice Sara Ott and the LSO

By Alexander Hall

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London

Classical and neoclassical: Hannigan and the LSO in Haydn and Stravinsky

By Roy Westbrook, 21 September 2023

Tempora mutantur; an inventive programme abut changing times, in the metrical, art-historical, and geo-political senses.

****1

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****1

London

22 Sep 2023

Hannigan and the LSO in Haydn and Stravinsky

By Roy Westbrook

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London

Hannigan and LSO push all the buttons in provocative season opener

By Mark Thomas, 14 September 2023

An enticing Barbican programme from Barbara Hannigan, seeking light out of darkness in pieces spanning three different centuries, and an electrifying vocal performance by mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron.

*****

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*****

London

15 Sep 2023

Hannigan and LSO push all the buttons in provocative season opener

By Mark Thomas

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London

Rattle says farewell to London with Poulenc and Mahler

By Alexander Hall, 27 August 2023

Sir Simon Rattle ends his tenure as Music Director of the LSO with a cry for liberty and arguably the greatest of all farewell symphonies.

****1

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****1

London

28 Aug 2023

Rattle says farewell to London with Poulenc and Mahler

By Alexander Hall

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London

Winging its way to heaven: Schumann's muse soars aloft at the BBC Proms

By Peter Quantrill, 22 August 2023

A Schumann premiere at the BBC Proms, revived with loving care by Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO.

****1

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****1

London

23 Aug 2023

Winging its way to heaven: Schumann's muse soars aloft at the Proms

By Peter Quantrill

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Aix-en-Provence

Musically peerless but battering: Wozzeck at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence

By David Karlin, 07 July 2023

Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO give an orchestral performance to remember, with a fine singing cast, but Simon McBurney's staging dials the bleakness to maximum too early.

***11

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***11

Aix-en-Provence

08 Jul 2023

Musically peerless but battering: Wozzeck in Aix

By David Karlin

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London

Joy of the Blood of the Stars: Rattle and the LSO fixed in the firmament

By Christopher Woodley, 14 June 2023

Betsy Jolas delivers a farewell gift – at 96, her own final orchestral work – to Sir Simon Rattle on the occasion of his final Barbican concerts as the LSO's Music Director.

*****

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*****

London

15 Jun 2023

Joy of the Blood of the Stars: Rattle fixed in the LSO firmament

By Christopher Woodley

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Sydney

Rattle and the LSO triumph in Bruckner 7 at the Sydney Opera House

By Zoltán Szabó, 03 May 2023

In the last of the LSO's Sydney concerts, Sir Simon Rattle's affinity with Bruckner's score results in a heartfelt performance of the Seventh Symphony.

*****

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*****

Sydney

05 May 2023

Rattle and the LSO triumph in Bruckner 7 at the Sydney Opera House

By Zoltán Szabó

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Sydney

Back with a bang: Rattle and the LSO begin their Australian tour

By David Larkin, 01 May 2023

The LSO opens its three-concert Sydney stay with a panoply of colours and virtuoso orchestral playing in a programme of Adams, Debussy and Ravel, under the masterful leadership of Sir Simon Rattle

*****

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*****

Sydney

02 May 2023

Back with a bang: Rattle and the LSO begin their Australian tour

By David Larkin

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London

Instrumental and vocal virtuosity: Rattle leads Mahler and Poulenc at the Barbican

By Roy Westbrook, 23 April 2023

Rarely does a concert entirely devoted to a big Mahler Symphony later acquire a second half, let alone one containing just twenty minutes of a cappella singing.

****1

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****1

London

24 Apr 2023

Sir Simon Rattle leads the LSO in Mahler and Poulenc at the Barbican

By Roy Westbrook

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London

Lucky 13th: Noseda's LSO Shostakovich cycle continues to impress

By Roy Westbrook, 02 April 2023

Ukrainian bass Ukrainian Vitalij Kowaljow brings drama and authority to Shostakovich's Babi Yar, while Simon Trpčeski offers a classical Emperor.

*****

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*****

London

03 Apr 2023

Lucky 13th: Noseda's LSO Shostakovich cycle continues to impress

By Roy Westbrook

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London

Beauty and the beast: Beethoven and Prokofiev from the LSO, Batiashvili and Noseda

By Chris Garlick, 30 March 2023

The polar opposite combination of Beethoven's Violin Concerto and Prokofiev's Third Symphony may seem odd on paper, but makes for an inspiring and entertaining evening at the Barbican.

****1

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****1

London

31 Mar 2023

Beauty and the beast: Beethoven and Prokofiev from the LSO

By Chris Garlick

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London

A heartening journey: a sensuous fix from Wigglesworth and the LSO

By Mark Thomas, 02 February 2023

Ryan Wigglesworth steps into the breach with relish and authority in this journey through the senses, pitting Hummel against Tchaikovsky, plus a UK premiere from Nokuthula Ngwenyama.

***11

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***11

London

03 Feb 2023

A heartening journey: a sensuous fix from Wigglesworth and the LSO

By Mark Thomas

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London

Sublime Sibelius and punchy Prokofiev from Gianandrea Noseda and the LSO

By Dominic Lowe, 26 January 2023

Janine Jansen's interpretation of Sibelius' Violin Concerto is a triumph, followed by a powerful reading of Prokofiev's Sixth by Noseda – a thrilling concert to leave the heart racing.

****1

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****1

London

28 Jan 2023

Sublime Sibelius and punchy Prokofiev from Noseda and the LSO

By Dominic Lowe

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London

Rattle and the LSO chill the soul in Kátya Kabanová

By Mark Valencia, 11 January 2023

Amanda Majeski reprises her peerless Kátya, but Katarina Dalayman's flint-like characterisation as Kabanicha strikes the most sparks.

****1

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****1

London

13 Jan 2023

Rattle and the LSO chill the soul in Kátya Kabanová

By Mark Valencia

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London

Rattle and the LSO in commanding form for Szymanowski and Brahms

By Alexander Hall, 17 December 2022

Contemplation and reflection should ideally form a counterpoint to jollity and merry-making in the festive season: an object-lesson from Sir Simon Rattle and his supporting forces.

****1

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****1

London

18 Dec 2022

Rattle and the LSO in commanding form for Szymanowski and Brahms

By Alexander Hall

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London

In the shadow of Petrushka: Rattle’s Stravinskian tapas menu

By Mark Pullinger, 15 December 2022

Sir Simon Rattle's “Stravinsky Journey” threads a string of miniatures to persuade the audience that there's more to Stravinsky than his three early Ballets Russes hits.

***11

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***11

London

16 Dec 2022

In the shadow of Petrushka: Rattle’s Stravinskian tapas menu

By Mark Pullinger

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London

Romantics early and late: Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO at the Barbican

By Roy Westbrook, 30 November 2022

The last conductor to have led such a superb account of Rachmaninov's Third Symphony was quite possibly its composer.

*****

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*****

London

01 Dec 2022

Romantics early and late: Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO at the Barbican

By Roy Westbrook

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London

Sublime Beethoven and a ride into the abyss with Ott, Stutzmann and the LSO

By Mark Pullinger, 10 November 2022

Alice Sara Ott quenching the demonic flames of César Franck's Le Chasseur maudit with a beautiful rendition of Beethoven's C minor piano concerto.

****1

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****1

London

11 Nov 2022

Sublime Beethoven and a ride into the abyss with the LSO

By Mark Pullinger

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London

Fair play from Kevin John Edusei and the LSO in Stravinsky's Petrushka

By Benjamin Poore, 27 October 2022

A muted Bartók violin concerto is offset by a scintillating Petrushka at the Barbican.

***11

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***11

London

29 Oct 2022

Fair play from Edusei and the LSO in Stravinsky's Petrushka

By Benjamin Poore

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London

Poetry and power: Sibelius and Bruckner from Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra

By Roy Westbrook, 18 September 2022

After their magnificent recent Sibelius Seventh, the LSO returns to the Finnish composer for a pair of tone poems, followed by Bruckner's Seventh.

****1

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****1

London

20 Sep 2022

Poetry and power: Sibelius and Bruckner from Rattle and the LSO

By Roy Westbrook

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London

Blast from the past: Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra deliver a showstopper

By Chris Garlick, 15 September 2022

Conducting a programme of mostly 20th-century classics that could have come from his early glory days in Birmingham, Rattle was in his element.

*****

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*****

London

16 Sep 2022

Blast from the past: Rattle and the LSO deliver a showstopper

By Chris Garlick

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London

Glorious, tear-jerking Mahler 2 from Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra at the Proms

By Nick Boston, 24 August 2022

The massed ranks of the LSO, the London Symphony and CBSO Choruses, Dame Sarah Connolly and Louise Alder gather for a staggering Mahler 2 at the BBC Proms.

*****

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*****

London

25 Aug 2022

Glorious, tear-jerking Mahler 2 from Rattle and the LSO at the Proms

By Nick Boston

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London

Triomphale: Berlioz and Messiaen in a battle of the decibels at St Paul's

By Mark Pullinger, 23 June 2022

Sir Simon Rattle conducts 80+ members of the LSO in the monumental Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale in a site-specific performance inside – and outside – St Paul’s Cathedral.

****1

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****1

London

24 Jun 2022

Triomphale: a Berlioz–Messiaen battle of the decibels at St Paul's

By Mark Pullinger

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London

Rattle and the LSO turn the world upside down

By Alexander Hall, 16 June 2022

Expect the unexpected when Sir Simon Rattle conducts the LSO. There will always be something that works, and sharpens your musical sensibilities, and something that doesn't. Ligeti, Wagner and Jolas vie for attention with Brahms.

***11

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***11

London

17 Jun 2022

Rattle and the LSO turn the world upside down

By Alexander Hall

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London

Pappano takes no prisoners in Dallapiccola and Respighi

By Benjamin Poore, 05 June 2022

Sir Antonio Pappano and the LSO offer a riveting account of Il prigioniero, an idiosyncratic 20th-century opera.

****1

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****1

London

06 Jun 2022

Pappano takes no prisoners in Dallapiccola and Respighi

By Benjamin Poore

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London

MTT makes a very welcome return to the LSO

By Alexander Hall, 15 May 2022

The LSO’s Conductor Laureate, Michael Tilson Thomas, takes his time over Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, while Lukás Vondráček seeks out the extremes in Liszt’s First Piano Concerto.

****1

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****1

London

16 May 2022

MTT makes a very welcome return to the LSO

By Alexander Hall

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London

Great music but balance off-kilter: Rattle and the LSO tackle Kurt Weill

By David Karlin, 28 April 2022

Problems of balance bedevilled a fine programme of some of Weill's most bitter, ironical works which improved substantially after the interval.

***11

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***11

London

29 Apr 2022

Great music but balance off-kilter: the LSO tackle Weill

By David Karlin

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London

Scintillating concerto and powerful symphony from Lamsma, Noseda and the LSO

By Alexander Hall, 10 April 2022

Simone Lamsma brings freshness and personality to Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, while Gianandrea Noseda underlines his credentials in Slavic music by assaying the symphony described thus by Koussevitzky: “It is yesterday, it is today, it is tomorrow”.

****1

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****1

London

11 Apr 2022

A powerful Prokofiev 5 from Noseda and the LSO

By Alexander Hall

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London

Recipe for success: Rattle cooks up a musical feast with the LSO

By Matthew Rye, 09 March 2022

An unusual collection of five disparate shorter orchestral works made for a fascinating celebration of Sir Simon Rattle’s musical enthusiasms over his career.

****1

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****1

London

10 Mar 2022

Recipe for success: Rattle cooks up a musical feast with the LSO

By Matthew Rye

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London

Haydn's Creation and the LSO sing “Happy Birthday” to the Barbican

By Roy Westbrook, 03 March 2022

It is rare for the LSO to take a literal and metaphorical back seat at one of their own concerts, but they supplied every instrumental need in Haydn's joyous oratorio.

*****

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*****

London

04 Mar 2022

Haydn's Creation and the LSO sing “Happy Birthday” to the Barbican

By Roy Westbrook

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London

Shall we dance? Barbara Hannigan and the LSO in Copland, Offenbach and Weill

By Kevin W Ng, 17 February 2022

Barbara Hannigan conducts the LSO at the Barbican in an eclectic programme full of exuberant flair.

****1

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****1

London

18 Feb 2022

Shall we dance? Barbara Hannigan and the LSO strut their stuff

By Kevin W Ng

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London

Imperial Beethoven and riddling Shostakovich from Beatrice Rana, Gianandrea Noseda and the LSO

By Roy Westbrook, 06 February 2022

In this performance of Shostakovich's final symphony, the ‘Fate’ motif from Wagner’s Ring suggested the LSO brass had been moonlighting in Bayreuth.

****1

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****1

London

07 Feb 2022

Imperial Beethoven and riddling Shostakovich from Rana and Noseda

By Roy Westbrook

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London

Stikhina and Kowaljow cut deep in Shostakovich with Noseda and the LSO

By Mark Thomas, 03 February 2022

Elena Stikhina and Vitalij Kowaljow provided an extra touch of class in Shostakovich’s sombre but moving Fourteenth Symphony, with Noseda and the LSO running riot in Beethoven’s Seventh.

*****

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*****

London

04 Feb 2022

Stikhina and Kowaljow cut deep in Shostakovich with Noseda and the LSO

By Mark Thomas

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London

Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra demonstrate unity in diversity

By Alexander Hall, 09 January 2022

True to himself, Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO offered a mouth-watering programme of contrasts. The first half pointing clearly to the modern world worked better than the backward glance at a great Romantic symphony.

****1

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****1

London

10 Jan 2022

Rattle and the LSO demonstrate unity in diversity

By Alexander Hall

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London

A mad king and an angelic voice: Kirill Karabits and the London Symphony Orchestra

By Alexander Hall, 16 December 2021

Jump-ins are always risky: Kirill Karabits took over this LSO programme from Sir Simon Rattle. Though he left his mark with Debussy and Berlioz, his credentials in Mahler were open to question.

***11

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***11

London

17 Dec 2021

A mad king and an angelic voice: Karabits and the LSO

By Alexander Hall

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London

Compelling music-making from the London Symphony Orchestra

By David Truslove, 11 November 2021

Clarity of articulation and ensemble underlined gripping performances in a programme that could have been a one-horse race.

*****

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*****

London

14 Nov 2021

Compelling music-making from the London Symphony Orchestra

By David Truslove

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London

Wonderful Walton, brazen Brahms: LSO, Tamestit and Ticciati at the Barbican

By Roy Westbrook, 28 October 2021

Antoine Tamestit continues his Artist Portrait series with a concerto that was initially rejected by its first proposed soloist.

****1

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****1

London

29 Oct 2021

Wonderful Walton, brazen Brahms: LSO, Tamestit and Ticciati

By Roy Westbrook

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London

Masterwork and 'prentice piece from Tamestit, Rattle and the LSO

By Roy Westbrook, 06 October 2021

Hans Keller's mischievous essay on “Phoney Professions” lists both viola players (“it’s just a big violin”) and conductors among its targets. This performance refuted that, as surely as it delighted everyone else.

****1

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****1

London

07 Oct 2021

Masterwork and 'prentice piece from Tamestit, Rattle and the LSO

By Roy Westbrook

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London

Chimerical Rattle and the LSO excel in British music in Barbican season opener

By Chris Garlick, 12 September 2021

Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO open their 2021-22 season with an eclectic mix of British music that sees the orchestra at its most lustrous.

*****

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*****

London

13 Sep 2021

Chimerical Rattle and the LSO excel in British music

By Chris Garlick

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London

Stravinsky symphonies: Rattle and the LSO's superb anniversary Prom

By Roy Westbrook, 22 August 2021

Were we to celebrate a great artist fifty years after his death with three misbegotten attempts at a form he never understood?

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*****

London

24 Aug 2021

Stravinsky symphonies: Rattle and the LSO's superb anniversary Prom

By Roy Westbrook

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Edinburgh

Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO lift the spirits at the Edinburgh International Festival

By David Smythe, 19 August 2021

An entertaining assortment of vignettes from Ibert, Martinů and Richard Strauss made for a delightful summer evening of music.

****1

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****1

Edinburgh

20 Aug 2021

Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO lift the spirits at the EIF

By David Smythe

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Aix-en-Provence

At the Festival d'Aix: to hear Tristan... and to die

By Romain Daroles, 08 July 2021

The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence gives us a definitive performance of Wagner's opera – but for listening only.

***11

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***11

Aix-en-Provence

10 Jul 2021

At the Festival d'Aix: to hear Tristan... and to die

By Romain Daroles

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London

The LSO and Nicola Benedetti showcase breathtaking new music

By Benjamin Poore, 13 June 2021

A programme of works by living composers showcases a dazzling new violin concerto.

*****

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*****

London

14 Jun 2021

The LSO and Nicola Benedetti showcase breathtaking new music

By Benjamin Poore

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London

Sunny and positive: Michael Tilson Thomas and the LSO at St Lukes

By Chris Garlick, 30 May 2021

Michael Tilson Thomas is an old friend of the LSO and his precise and expressive presence on the podium produced fine musical results all round.

****1

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****1

London

31 May 2021

Sunny and positive: Michael Tilson Thomas and the LSO at St Lukes

By Chris Garlick

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London

Rattle and the LSO excel in Strauss and Wagner

By Mark Valencia, 27 May 2021

Rattle leads the London Symphony Orchestra on a journey to his adoptive country, without so much as a lateral flow test to hold them up.

*****

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*****

London

28 May 2021

Rattle and the LSO excel in Strauss and Wagner

By Mark Valencia

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London

The joy of decibels: Rattle and the LSO welcome audiences back to the Barbican

By Mark Pullinger, 18 May 2021

Before the pandemic, it was easy to take concert-going for granted, that communal sharing of classical music. One day after the easing of lockdown, the London Symphony Orchestra returned to its Barbican home to play for an audience for the first time since 15th March 2020.

****1

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****1

London

18 May 2021

The joy of decibels: Rattle and the LSO back at the Barbican

By Mark Pullinger

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London

Reunions and farewells: Rattle and the LSO return to the Barbican

By Roy Westbrook, 09 May 2021

Magdalena Kožená's excellence of tone and line in her first two songs did not prepare us for her profundity in Der Abschied.

****1

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****1

London

10 May 2021

Reunions and farewells: Rattle and the LSO return to the Barbican

By Roy Westbrook