Tonal finesse, graceful articulation and magical simplicity mattered more than anything else in Yefim Bronfman's version of Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto.
After hearing three exhilarating and razor-sharp Philharmonia concerts this season under Esa-Pekka Salonen and Jakub Hrůša, this performance with regular guest conductor Yuri Temirkanov felt decidedly “Old School”.
For the first of three concerts at the Cadogan Hall, the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra gave a heavy account of Beethoven's Piano Concerto no. 4, lightened by the graceful playing of Angela Hewitt, followed by a rich New World Symphony.
Le Cercle d'Harmonie with their founder Jérémie Rhorer fail to convince in symphonies by Mozart and Mendelssohn, whereas the Italian soprano Rosa Feola triumphs in two concert arias.
Master improviser, Robert Levin, proved an informative and fun guide to a selection of Mozart's later masterpieces, performed with panache by the Academy of Ancient Music.
Gerd Schaller, the Munich Philharmonic Choir and Philharmonie Festiva present a successful revival of an almost forgotten Mass by Johann Herbeck, and Olga Pogorelova plays heavenly Mozart at the spa town of Bad Kissingen.
It is always a risk and a pleasure to programme some of the most well known works in the classical repertoire, and Italy’s Orchestra Mozart, joined by young Venezuelan conductor Diego Matheuz and pianist Maria João Pires, had some of the favourites on show in the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Thursday evening.They opened the concert with the effervescent overture to Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro.
A concert like this could have three possible outcomes: one, frustration at catching just a glimpse of a multitude of operas without the benefit of character or plot development or the embellishment of sumptuous costumes or stage sets; two, inspiration to delve further into the world of opera, nudged by tantalising hints of dramatic tension and a world of emotions; or three, sheer escapism into a
Why establish a new orchestra, to perform in a new hall, across the street from an eminent opera company as well as one of the country’s premier symphony orchestras? It’s a good question with many possible valid responses, and I wish I had more of an answer after attending the grand opening concert of the Dallas Chamber Symphony this Tuesday evening.
How gratifying that James Conlon briefly introduced the rationale for this Philadelphia Orchestra concert, which turned out to be entirely divorced from the nostalgic ‘Memories of Prague’ that its title suggested. Instead, what I had presumed to be coincidental key signatures were in fact the link: an exploration of D minor (with a side of D major).
There are the knowns. The things, as Rumsfeld would have it, that we know that we know. Like the way the Aurora orchestra can bring sheer youthful exuberance to a fast piece like the G Major presto finale to the symphony No.27 which ended the first half of last night's all-Mozart concert at Kings Place. Aurora don't just survive at these breakneck tempi, they absolutely thrive on them.
L'Orchestre National d'Île-de-France, emmené par Christian Arming, proposait l'ouverture des Noces de Figaro, la Symphonie n°7 de Beethoven et, entre les deux, le rarement entendu Concerto pour Bandonéon d'Astor Piazzolla, avec Per Arne Glorvigen en soliste.
Queffélec et l'orchestre communient en apesanteur dans l'ascèse. Admirable de probité, d' « honnêteté artistique », ce concert à la Roque-d'Anthéron restera dans les mémoires.
Bannie par certains, accueillie à bras ouverts par d’autres : il est risqué de s’embarquer avec la soliste argentine Sol Gabetta. Son nom ensoleillé et sa personne non moins rayonnante sont en effet susceptibles de donner libre cours à l’emphase. Mais pas dans cette collaboration avec le Kammerorchester Basel et son fidèle compagnon Giovanni Antonini.
Une belle idée sous-tend cette « Nuit Chopin », en compagnie des deux lauréats du dernier Concours de Varsovie, celle d’en rejouer la Finale. Voilà le public confronté aux mêmes œuvres, aux mêmes musiciens : Charles Richard-Hamelin et Seong-Jin Cho, accompagnés par Aziz Shokhakimov à la tête du Sinfonia Varsovia.
Devant un public euphorique, le West-Eastern Divan Orchestra a célébré la musique hispanisante dans un concert festoyant, sous la baguette bienveillante de Daniel Barenboim.
