Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Brandenburg Concerto no. 4 in G major, BWV1049

Bach on modern instruments: superbly played but inconsistent

The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra celebrates the beginning of its 30th season with a fittingly chosen programme.

Continuing a decades-long holiday season tradition, the SPCO presents five of Bach's six Brandenburg Concerti in performances brimming with energy and élan.

A rare opportunity to hear the complete Brandenburgs was awarded by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in a distinguished performance, with Huw Daniel its leading light.

Performing a complete cycle of Brandenburg Concertos in one evening may take less time than a Wagner opera, but it is equally an epic undertaking for any Baroque ensemble.

It can’t be often that one of the world’s pre-eminent Bach scholar-interpreters teams up with one of the world’s most famous period instrument ensembles to give a concert dedicated to one of the world’s most celebrated composers in one of the world’s most renowned acoustics.

Contrasting vocal and instrumental, sacred and secular, the Dunedin Consort's 'Brandenburg/Cantata Series II' featured two of Bach's popular concerti grossi, flanked by a pair of sacred cantatas.Instrumental contrast distinguished the cantatas as much as the concerti.

This splendid programme rightly attracted a fair sized audience to this fine church on this beautiful evening. Starting with Zadok the Priest, the best known of the four coronation anthems by Handel, the choir, although numbering under 20 voices, produced an initial impact which was to set the tone for the rest of the concert.

La Universidad Autónoma de Madrid rinde homenaje a Francisco Tomás y Valiente con un programa integrado por los seis conciertos de Brandeburgo de Bach capitaneados por la dirección y el clave de John Butt. 

Bachs weltliche Kantaten- und Konzertmusik lassen im Ansbacher Bachwochen-Konzert von Il Gusto Barocco letzte funkensprühende Überzeugungskraft vermissen.

Die Brandburgischen Konzerte gefielen durch äußerst beschwingte Spiellust des Ensembles Collegium 1704, während in der Hitze des Gefechts einige Unstimmigkeiten passierten.

« Y aurait-il quelque part un mécène capable d’entendre notre appel ? » lit-on dans nos programmes de salle. Tel est sans doute le vœu originel qui sous-tendait ce concert de la Petite Bande à Gaveau...

Verhaltene Spielfreude in den Konzerten verhindert mitreißende Kontinuität im Sog des feierlichen Bach-Programms.