Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | BBC National Orchestra of Wales | by Bachtrack for classical music, opera, ballet and dance event reviews

Put content in English at top

homepages

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Showing items 1 to 50 of 54

1 2

Cardiff

Springtime for Ryan Wigglesworth and the BBCNOW

By Rohan Shotton, 19 January 2018

Ryan Wigglesworth conducts a Huw Watkins première and a grand-scale account of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony

****1

Cardiff

Scintillating season opener from Søndergård and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales

By Rohan Shotton, 12 October 2017

Thomas Søndergård conducts the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in Mosolov, Shostakovich and Beethoven with Igor Levit

****1

London

Prom 32: Four centuries of British music from Ryan Wigglesworth and the BBC NOW

By Nick Boston, 09 August 2017

Affecting Britten, distinctive Elias and popular Elgar, with a curio of arranged Purcell thrown in, from Ryan Wigglesworth and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

***11

London

Prom 21: An underwhelming performance of MacMillan and Beethoven

By Aaron Davies, 30 July 2017

An underwhelming performance that fell prey to poor interpretive judgements.

**111

London

Prom 6: RAH resounds with Nicola Benedetti's extraordinary Shostakovich

By Andrew Morris, 18 July 2017

Some rare and some great Shostakovich meet in concert while the BBC National Orchestra of Wales make an engrossing case for Sibelius' great Second Symphony.

****1

London

Prom 5: Brilliantly played 20th-century classics from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales

By Andrew Morris, 17 July 2017

Vivid playing thrills at the Proms, but fell short of engrossing storytelling.

***11

Cardiff

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2017: A Thrilling Finale

By Rohan Shotton, 18 June 2017

A thrilling finale to the 2017 Cardiff Singer of the World

Cardiff

Joyful noise: Walton’s mighty Belshazzar’s Feast in Cardiff

By Andrew Morris, 01 December 2016

Three English composers receive fine performances from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

****1

Cardiff

Majesty and beauty in Daphnis et Chloé from Tadaaki Otaka and BBC NOW

By Simon Rees, 10 November 2016

Luscious orchestral and choral sounds bring Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé to shimmering life.

****1

London

Prom 37: Webern, Brahms and a Watkins première from Søndergård and BBC NOW

By Nick Boston, 12 August 2016

Bright and energetic Walton and a promising, highly lyrical Concerto from Watkins, followed by taut Webern and commanding Brahms from Søndergård and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

***11

London

Prom 35: Malcolm Hayes' Violin Concerto forms compelling centrepiece

By David Truslove, 11 August 2016

In the first of two successive Proms appearances, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales gave solid performances of two popular scores from the central European repertoire. Malcolm Hayes’s new work, however, proved to be the highlight of the evening.

***11

London

Prom 16: Chloë Hanslip inspired in powerful Berkeley première and exotic ballets from BBC NOW

By Mark Thomas, 27 July 2016

A superb performance from Chloë Hanslip in the world premiere of Berkeley's Violin Concerto, with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Jac van Steen polished but lacking bite in Dukas and Prokofiev.

***11

London

Prom 11: Wagner and Tippett make an effective pairing

By Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, 23 July 2016

Wagner's Die Walküre and Tippett's A Child of Our Time both attempt to capture the essence of humanity. Despite making for an unusual pairing, the programme was an effective one.

****1

Cardiff

Extravagant impressions: new music and the BBCNOW pays homage to Dutilleux

By Simon Cummings, 27 January 2016

Pascal Rophé, Elizabeth Atherton and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales celebrate Dutilleux’s centenary year with five contemporary works associated with the composer

****1

Cardiff

Thomas Søndergård and his Welsh forces score a hit with Rachmaninov’s The Bells

By David Truslove, 03 October 2015

In a quirky programme featuring English, Welsh and Russian music the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales began their new season at St David’s Hall showcasing, with mixed results, their composer-in-association Huw Watkins, Elgar and three Russian composers at different stages in their careers.

****1

London

Prom 64: Caprine mythology, oriental adventures and heavenly Mahler from Thomas Søndergård and the BBCNOW

By Kathryn Wareham, 03 September 2015

Making its fourth Proms appearance this season, the BBC National Orchestra transported the audience from the Orient in Nielsen’s Aladdin, to Ancient Greece for a world première, then to heaven in Mahler’s Symphony no. 4.

***11

London

Prom 26: Best of British crowned by an energetic Walton 2

By Penny Homer, 05 August 2015

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales on fine form showcasing British composers, with a little help from Chloe Hanslip and Ailish Tynan

***11

London

Prom 6: BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales present an eclectic jamboree under Thomas Søndergård

By David Truslove, 21 July 2015

The celebratory, cerebral and contradictory elements inherent in this diverse programme of Haydn, Mozart, Poulenc and Stravinsky didn’t quite disguise some uneven performances in Søndergård’s third prom concert.

***11

London

Proms 2 & 3: Ten Pieces a hit with young audience

By Gavin Dixon, 19 July 2015

The BBC's Ten Pieces project culminates in a spectacular Proms event, some of it confusing for adults, but all well-received by the children.

****1

Cardiff

When the voice alone is not enough: BBC Cardiff Singer prize eludes favourite

By Mark Pullinger, 21 June 2015

Cardiff Castle hosted an entertaining bout of medieval jousting yesterday afternoon, but in the evening all eyes and ears turned to the vocal jousting in St David’s Hall.

Cardiff

Star-gazing performances of Bowden and Holst as BBC NOW and Chorus perform a Mark Bowden première

By Philip May, 18 April 2015

Grand Holst and the première of Mark Bowden's A Violence of Gifts, performed with bombastic gusto and colour.

****1

Cardiff

A composer portrait of B Tommy Andersson in Cardiff

By Simon Rees, 25 February 2015

B Tommy Andersson's music promises more than it delivers in this showcase concert with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

***11

Cardiff

A too-delicate touch with the classics from Søndergård and BBC NOW

By Simon Rees, 05 February 2015

Thomas Søndergård's over-subtle touch in conducting Haydn, Beethoven and Mozart has some delicate colouring but fails to reach the deeper drama.

***11

Cardiff

Late romanticism rises to a deafening climax: Langgaard, Korngold and Zemlinsky in Cardiff

By Simon Rees, 18 November 2014

BBC National Orchestra of Wales's afternoon concert series brings unusual works to light, but the small auditorium can make some of the heavier late-romantic orchestration overwhelming – to the point of being overpowering.

***11

Bristol

The Brahms Experience in Bristol with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales

By Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, 08 October 2014

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales crossed the river to England to deliver an evening of the music of Brahms culminating in the giant Symphony no. 1 in C minor, Op. 68.

***11

London

Prom 35: Søndergård charts a sure progress through Sibelius’ Fifth

By Mark Pullinger, 12 August 2014

Inspired by the sight of sixteen swans in flight, the great swinging horn call in the final movement of Sibelius Fifth Symphony is one of the most life-affirming moments in the composer’s output. If this ‘Swan Hymn’ glowed rather than blazed brightly last night, it was the journey there which impressed in the hands of Thomas Søndergård, Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

***11

London

BBCNOW find the connections between Richard Strauss, Mozart and Carl Nielsen

By Chris Garlick, 11 August 2014

Birthday boy Richard Strauss was celebrated again at the Proms with two early works, one an acknowledged masterpiece and the other a problem child, in an odd programme that included works by Mozart and Nielsen from the BBC NOW.

****1

London

William Mathias première at the Proms, but bruising Elgar disappoints

By Mark Pullinger, 06 August 2014

A notable London première for William Mathias' finely crafted Violin Concerto, but a fierce, bruising account of Elgar's First Symphony disappoints at the BBC NOW's Prom.

***11

London

Frivolity, tragedy and serenity: the many sides of BBC NOW at the Proms

By Hazel Rowland, 27 July 2014

Thierry Fischer and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales presented an eclectic programme, with an exciting première by Simon Holt and the many different facets of 20th century French orchestral music.

****1

Cardiff

A Slavic Centrefold to the Welsh Proms

By Philip May, 23 July 2014

With so much focus - understandably - on London's concerts during the Proms season, it is a delight to be able to listen to and attend various other related performances across the UK.

****1

Cardiff

War-horses to the rescue: Brahms and Beethoven at St David’s Hall, Cardiff

By Simon Rees, 09 May 2014

The joy of listening to Brahms’s piano concertos in a concert hall – especially one with such fine acoustics as St David’s Hall, Cardiff – is that textures and harmonies that can sound thick, muddy and ill-balanced in recordings come across with all their intricate, closely-woven contrapuntal writing clear and thrilling.

****1

Cardiff

St David's Day Gala in Cardiff

By Philip May, 01 March 2014

A celebration of Wales in the St David's Day Gala in Cardiff.

Cardiff

Arcomis International Brass Event's impressive opening concert by the BBC NOW at St David's Hall, Cardiff

By Peter Reynolds, 10 October 2013

Arcomis is a Cardiff-based organisation concerned with the promotion and commissioning of new music. Modest yet effective, most of their work is at an essential grass-root level, yet, seemingly out of nowhere, they have conjured an incredibly bold and wide-ranging three-day festival of brass based at Cardiff’s St David’s Hall, the Cardiff University Music Department and the Royal Welsh College

****1

Cardiff

Tragedy and hilarity: Søndergård conducts Poulenc and Shostakovich at St David's Hall, Cardiff

By Philip May, 04 October 2013

I find it difficult to remember the last time I attended a concert in which I was met with just about everything that I wanted to hear, settled alongside facets of performance that I hadn’t yet encountered. Perhaps tonight was, indeed, my first such experience.Thomas Søndergård’s rendition of Poulenc’s Gloria realised everything that I find I intuitively hope to hear from it.

*****

London

Prom 39: Holst, Vaughan Williams and Nishat Khan with BBC NOW and David Atherton

By Chris Garlick, 12 August 2013

Only at the Proms could you hear two stalwarts of the 20th-century English school alongside a new concerto by an Indian classical sitar player. To be fair the work, by Holst was entitled Indra and has its roots in the composers study of Indian Sanskrit, which led to a number of works based on Hindu myths – culminating in his beautiful opera Savitri.

****1

London

Prom 21: Søndergård and BBC NOW play Colin Matthews, Prokofiev and Shostakovich

By Chris Garlick, 29 July 2013

The perky new conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Thomas Søndergård, made his second Proms outing with an exciting programme of contrasting works which kicked off with the first UK performance of Colin Matthews’ Turning Point.First performed by the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra in 2006, Turning Point is an eighteen-minute work of considerable technical skill.

****1

London

Prom 16: BBC NOW play British music and Tchaikovsky

By Georgina Hastings, 24 July 2013

It’s rather unusual to find one Russian in a programme with three British composers, but Prom 16, with Jac van Steen and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, brought together two of this season’s themes. The first in the 2013 Proms’ Tchaikovsky symphony cycle (no.

****1

London

Prom 9: BBC NOW and Thomas Søndergård play Stenhammar, Szymanowski and Strauss

By Rohan Shotton, 18 July 2013

Thomas Søndergård made his BBC Proms debut at the end of a successful first season at the helm of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, bringing a hefty programme of Stenhammar, Szymanowski and Strauss to the Royal Albert Hall.It was a fascinating programme, with a first half of relatively underperformed works prefacing Strauss’ popular Alpine Symphony.

***11

London

Prom 2: Woo woo! The Doctor visits the Royal Albert Hall

By Jane Shuttleworth, 13 July 2013

Adoring and knowledgeable fans, lots of good humour and a tendency to wear silly hats: this description could fit any Proms audience, but Prom 2 was not quite the usual Prom. For one thing, the silly hats were mostly fezzes, and the audience’s expert knowledge extended to being able to identify the weird alien life forms that had invaded the Royal Albert Hall.

****1

Cardiff

François-Xavier Roth conducts Zarathustra in Cardiff

By Rohan Shotton, 24 May 2013

François-Xavier Roth conducted the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in a varied programme of Mozart, Webern and Strauss, concluding with a powerful performance of Also Sprach Zarathustra at St David’s Hall in Cardiff.It was hard to spot a linking factor between the programmed works, but they seemed to complement each other nicely.

****1

Cardiff

Britten and Poulenc with Adrian Partington and the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales

By Philip May, 08 May 2013

On Wednesday evening the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales, conducted by Adrian Partington, presented a programme of choral music by the two musical friends Poulenc and Britten.

****1

Cardiff

20th-century concerti with Tadaaki Otaka and BBC National Orchestra of Wales

By Philip May, 28 March 2013

“Three concertos and an epitaph” is how the Wales Millennium Centre summed up tonight’s concert. Not only did the selected programme focus almost exclusively on three composers’ essays in the concerto genre, but it also spanned a narrow period of time within the mid 20th-century: 22 years in total, or 38 if one includes Andrzej Panufnik’s Katyn Epitaph.

*****

London

Prom 39: Thierry Fischer ends his BBC NOW tenure with the Berlioz Requiem

By David Allen, 11 August 2012

It’s been a busy couple of months for Berlioz’s Requiem in London. First there was Sir Colin Davis’s June performance at St. Paul’s, with the reinforced London Symphony Orchestra’s brass bands arrayed around the dome.

***11

London

Prom 32: Leonard Bernstein's Mass makes its Proms debut

By Paul Kilbey, 06 August 2012

Leonard Bernstein’s Mass is massive. And massively odd. I thought I had prepared myself for what was in store before this piece’s Proms debut on Monday, but actually I hadn’t.

***11

London

Prom 23: A varied menu of early 20th-century English music

By Jane Shuttleworth, 31 July 2012

Prom 23 served up a menu of English music from the first half of the 20 century in all its variety, with impressionism by Delius, the lush strings of Vaughan Williams, heroic brass from Ireland, and jazzy, sophisticated excitement from Walton.The programme opened with a warmly affectionate performance of Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis.

***11

London

Prom 16: BBC National Orchestra of Wales with Joanna MacGregor and Ryan Wigglesworth

By Julia Savage, 26 July 2012

As the programme put it, Prom 16 had a "distinctly watery" theme. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales took its audience on a trip to the Italian and French rivieras, with a staycation in the form of Hugh Wood's thrilling Piano Concerto. It was a challenging programme, which showed in the orchestra's playing more than once, but it was nevertheless an enjoyable experience.

***11

Cardiff

BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Thierry Fischer: Strauss' Alpine Symphony

By Rohan Shotton, 15 June 2012

A lengthy standing ovation followed Thierry Fischer’s final St David’s Hall concert with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, concluding his sixth season with Richard Strauss’ monumental Alpine Symphony after a refined performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 22 with pianist Angela Hewitt.

*****

Cardiff

BBC National Orchestra of Wales: Stravinsky, Beethoven, Bartók

By Verity Quaite, 04 April 2012

The announcement by the presenter that Stravinsky did not intend Symphonies of Wind Instruments to please the audience or arouse their passions was greeted with titters of laughter. An overheard conversation during the interval signalled that the number of late arrivals to the concert was suspected to be ‘because they didn’t want to sit through the Stravinsky’.

****1

Cardiff

BBC National Orchestra of Wales at Hoddinott Hall

By Verity Quaite, 22 February 2012

Composed in under a month in 1945 against the backdrop of a burning, war-torn Dresden, Strauss’ Metamorphosen provided the perfect opening to a concert which explored themes of desolation and mourning. Commissioned by Swiss conductor Paul Sacher, Metamorphosen is a composition for 23 strings, inspired by Goethe’s poem ‘Niemand wird sich Selber kennen’ (‘No one can know himself’).

****1

London

Prom 65: "A riot of orchestral colour?"

By Tom Hancox, 03 September 2011

A "riot of orchestral colour" was promised, but little of it was allowed to flourish.

Elgar's Cockaigne Overture, written during the winter of 1900-01, is a portrait of a busy London, conjuring the hustle and bustle of everyday, metropolitan life. The orchestration, as is typical of Elgar, is often very detailed, the principal threads of the texture being added to momentarily here and there, as a flute highlights this and a tuba underscores that. Jac van Steen, the principal guest conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, exerted tight control over the score, but often at the expense of integration. As a result, the sound was unequal rather than homogeneous, which was further upset by moments of poor orchestral balance, the brass at times overwhelming their colleagues. Yet this was spirited playing that did much to realise the charm of Elgar's score.

***11

Showing items 1 to 50 of 54

1 2