Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring)

The Rite of Spring gains a whole new dimension with École des Sables

By Kathy Elgin, 17 August 2023

Powerful performances of a double bill at the Edinburgh International Festival by the Senegal based École des Sables.

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Edinburgh

19 Aug 2023

The Rite of Spring gains a whole new dimension with École des Sables

By Kathy Elgin

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Manchester

An exciting Sunday at the inaugural mcr:classical festival

By Rohan Shotton, 25 June 2023

The inaugural mcr:classical weekend comes to a rowdy finish with Stravinsky's Rite of Spring at The Bridgewater Hall.

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Manchester

27 Jun 2023

An exciting Sunday at the inaugural mcr:classical festival

By Rohan Shotton

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Liverpool

Colour and thrills from Hindoyan, Kanneh-Mason and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

By Peter Connors, 27 April 2023

Isata Kanneh-Mason thrills with sparking fingerwork in Prokofiev, while the RLPO and Domingo Hindoyan are just as dazzling in Falla and Stravinsky.

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Liverpool

28 Apr 2023

Colour and thrills from Hindoyan, Kanneh-Mason and the RLPO

By Peter Connors

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Sheffield

Spirits of the earth and dance inspire The Hallé’s visit to Sheffield

By Phil Parker, 21 April 2023

German conductor Christian Reif directed The Hallé in a vivid and rhythmically alert performance of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.

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Sheffield

23 Apr 2023

Spirits of the earth and dance inspire The Hallé’s visit to Sheffield

By Phil Parker

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Philadelphia

Earth songs: Stravinsky and John Luther Adams at the Philadelphia Orchestra

By Cameron Kelsall, 30 March 2023

Personnel changes plague the world premiere of Vespers of a Blessed Earth, which sounds an urgent musical alarm on the harms of climate changes.

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Philadelphia

31 Mar 2023

Earth songs: Stravinsky and John Luther Adams in Philadelphia

By Cameron Kelsall

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Seeta Patel's The Rite of Spring: always compelling and beautiful

By Graham Watts, 13 March 2023

In Seeta Patel's The Rite of Spring, the South Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam fits the feel of Stravinsky’s music perfectly.

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London

15 Mar 2023

Seeta Patel's The Rite of Spring: always compelling and beautiful

By Graham Watts

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Nemanja Radulović makes an impressive New York Philharmonic debut

By Edward Sava-Segal, 12 January 2023

Santtu-Matias Rouvali's second New York Phil subscription programme of the season opens with the US premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir's Catamorphosis.

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New York City

13 Jan 2023

Nemanja Radulović makes an impressive New York Philharmonic debut

By Edward Sava-Segal

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Tokyo

A brutal but mesmerising Rite of Spring from the National Ballet of Japan

By Naomi Mori, 25 November 2022

NBJ shows a contemporary double bill choreographed by Motoko Hirayama; a powerful and daring programme that strengthens their dancers’ versatility.

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Tokyo

29 Nov 2022

A mesmerising Rite of Spring from the National Ballet of Japan

By Naomi Mori

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A new Mats Ek Rite of Spring provides a leaving gift for ENB's Tamara Rojo

By Graham Watts, 09 November 2022

Ek's second, very different take on Stravinsky's Rite crowns an English National Ballet triple bill extolling the pure joy of dance and exposing the terror of forced marriage.

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London

13 Nov 2022

A new Mats Ek Rite of Spring a leaving gift for ENB's Tamara Rojo

By Graham Watts

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RSNO season begins with marvellous Britten but too pristine Stravinsky

By Simon Thompson, 30 September 2022

Stefan Jackiw makes Britten's Violin Concerto sing, but Thomas Søndergård's RSNO Rite of Spring is too well-behaved and David Fennessy's Riot Act is dull.

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Edinburgh

01 Oct 2022

RSNO season begins with marvellous Britten but too pristine Stravinsky

By Simon Thompson

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Paris 1913 brought to life by Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth at the EIF

By David Smythe, 16 August 2022

Two works premiered in Paris in 1913 – Lili Boulanger's Faust et Hélène and Stravinsky The Rite of Spring – excite the Edinburgh International Festival audience... but spark no riots.

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Edinburgh

17 Aug 2022

Paris 1913 brought to life by Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth

By David Smythe

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Everyday miracle from Brabbins and the BBC Symphony Orchestra

By Roy Westbrook, 31 July 2022

How various the orchestral sounds of this era - here were four in one programme, written between 1913 and 2000, by an Englishman, a Frenchman, a Greek and a Russian.

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London

01 Aug 2022

Everyday miracle from Brabbins and the BBC Symphony Orchestra

By Roy Westbrook

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Lenox

Andris Nelsons and Yuja Wang launch Tanglewood back to its full glory

By Edward Sava-Segal, 08 July 2022

Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring receives a vigorous performance to launch the Tanglewood Festival... after Yuja Wang steps in to perform fiery Liszt.

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Lenox

10 Jul 2022

Andris Nelsons and Yuja Wang launch Tanglewood back to its full glory

By Edward Sava-Segal

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From Senegal to Sadler's Wells: École des Sables dances Pina Bausch's The Rite of Spring

By Graham Watts, 07 June 2022

A mesmerising performance of one of modern dance's greatest works is such a feast for the senses that 37 minutes feels as if a whole evening passes by.

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London

11 Jun 2022

From Senegal to Sadler's Wells: École des Sables dances The Rite

By Graham Watts

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Leif Ove Andsnes and Marc-André Hamelin on remarkable form at Wigmore Hall

By David Truslove, 30 May 2022

A recital of mostly familiar repertoire that draws performances of devastating accuracy this Canadian–Norwegian partnership.

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London

01 Jun 2022

Leif Ove Andsnes and Marc-André Hamelin on remarkable form in London

By David Truslove

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An unplanned but beautifully apt memorial for George Crumb at Lincoln Center

By Kurt Gottschalk, 03 May 2022

The program, set long before Crumb’s death in February, following an implicit logic from Debussy to Stravinsky through Charles Ives and ending in Crumb’s somber lament, Ancient Voices of Children.

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New York City

05 May 2022

Unplanned but apt memorial for George Crumb at Lincoln Center

By Kurt Gottschalk

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Munich

Game, set and match: winning performances of three 20th-century classics in Munich

By Matthew Rye, 04 November 2021

François-Xavier Roth conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra with pianist Kirill Gerstein in a thrillingly played trio of Debussy, Schoenberg and Stravinsky.

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Munich

05 Nov 2021

Game, set and match: winning performances from Roth and the BRSO

By Matthew Rye

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Zurich

A slippery end for Sacre in Zurich double bill

By Sarah Batschelet, 29 October 2021

In Zurich, two sensational ballets by choreographers Johann Inger and Edward Clug pull out all the stops... including those on the water hoses.

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Zurich

31 Oct 2021

A slippery end for Sacre in Zurich double bill

By Sarah Batschelet

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Percussion thrills aplenty from Rouvali, Kuusisto and the Philharmonia

By David Karlin, 03 October 2021

From an unknown Mexican piece to an all-new Bryce Dessner concerto to the familiar Rite of Spring, Rouvali and the Philharmonia blow the roof off the Royal Festival Hall.

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London

04 Oct 2021

Percussion thrills aplenty from Rouvali, Kuusisto and the Philharmonia

By David Karlin

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Gdańsk

Art Survival: Baltic Opera's triple bill in Gdańsk

By Graham Watts, 23 April 2021

A fascinating programme of opera and dance to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Baltic Opera House.

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Gdańsk

28 Apr 2021

Art Survival: Baltic Opera's triple bill in Gdańsk

By Graham Watts

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A polished Rite from Thierry Fischer and the RPO

By Mark Pullinger, 10 March 2020

An evening of Russian classics at the Royal Festival Hall, where Esther Yoo joins the RPO to play Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto.

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London

11 Mar 2020

A polished Rite from Thierry Fischer and the RPO

By Mark Pullinger

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Sydney

Excellent playing, but lacklustre conducting in Sydney

By Zoltán Szabó, 19 February 2020

The Sydney Symphony, temporarily rehoused in the ornate Victorian style Town Hall, plays grandiose Wagner and safe Stravinsky.

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Sydney

20 Feb 2020

Excellent playing, but lacklustre conducting in Sydney

By Zoltán Szabó

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Seattle

Rites of ecstasy: Thomas Dausgaard pairs knockout scores by Scriabin and Stravinsky

By Thomas May, 21 November 2019

Continuing in his inaugural Seattle Symphony season, Thomas Dausgaard casts a gorgeous spell with Scriabin but is just short of truly thrilling in Stravinsky's Modernist icon.

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Seattle

22 Nov 2019

Rites of ecstasy: Dausgaard pairs knockout Scriabin and Stravinsky

By Thomas May

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Angels, devils, rites and Python: Dudamel, Yuja Wang and the LA Phil come to London

By David Karlin, 18 November 2019

The LA Phil give us plenty of excitement in Stravinsky and Sousa and an orchestral surprise packet from Ginastera; Yuja Wang's superb pianism isn't enough to lift a disappointing Adams concerto.

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London

19 Nov 2019

Angels, devils, rites and Python: the LA Phil in London

By David Karlin

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Tokyo

A Viennese Rite of Spring in Tokyo

By Nahoko Gotoh, 13 November 2019

It can’t be easy for conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada to have to play second fiddle to senior maestros on the Vienna Philharmonic’s tour.

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Tokyo

17 Nov 2019

A Viennese Rite of Spring in Tokyo

By Nahoko Gotoh

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Birmingham

Just like 1913: CBSO Youth Orchestra taps into the original spectacle and shock of The Rite of Spring

By Simon Cummings, 03 November 2019

The CBSO Youth Orchestra under Andrew Gourlay both succumb to and transcend imperfections in their performances of Prokofiev and Stravinsky.

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Birmingham

04 Nov 2019

Just like 1913: CBSO YO taps into the shock of The Rite of Spring

By Simon Cummings

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Liverpool

Joshua Weilerstein’s perceptive insights into Gershwin and Stravinsky in Liverpool

By Leighton Jones, 24 October 2019

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra give the UK premiere of one of André Previn's final works, while Joshua Weilerstein’s Rite of Spring brings a devastating blow in a programme of unique musical voices.

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Liverpool

26 Oct 2019

Joshua Weilerstein’s perceptive insights in Liverpool

By Leighton Jones

Dublin

Riveting Rite of Spring from Mihhail Gerts and RTÉ NSO in Dublin

By Andrew Larkin, 13 September 2019

A mesmerising Stravinsky Rite of Spring from Mihhail Gerts and RTÉ NSO while Irish pianist Fiachra Garvey impresses in Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini.

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Dublin

15 Sep 2019

Riveting Rite of Spring from Mihhail Gerts and RTÉ NSO in Dublin

By Andrew Larkin

Prom 6: Impressive and inspiring Anglo-American cooperation

By Nick Boston, 22 July 2019

The Orchestra of the Royal Academy of Music and The Julliard School, with Edward Gardner in an impressively ambitious programme, with tragic Britten from James Ehnes, and a remarkable UK premiere from Anna Thorvaldsdottir.

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London

24 Jul 2019

Prom 6: Impressive and inspiring Anglo-American cooperation

By Nick Boston

Left Unseen/ The Rite of Spring: Phoenix Dance Theatre's double bill at Sadler's Wells

By Graham Watts, 27 June 2019

An intense double bill of extreme physicality at Sadler's Wells.

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London

30 Jun 2019

Left Unseen/ The Rite of Spring: Phoenix Dance Theatre

By Graham Watts

Los Angeles

Rituals, funerary and celebratory, open up Salonen's Stravinsky series

By Néstor Castiglione, 12 April 2019

Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, arguably the conductor and orchestra par excellence of Stravinsky performance, debuts the first of their three-concert series dedicated to the former Angeleno.

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Los Angeles

15 Apr 2019

Salonen's Stravinsky series kicks off in LA

By Néstor Castiglione

Boston

Rites of Spring Stravinsky and Schumann with Dudamel and the Boston Symphony

By Kevin Wells, 05 April 2019

Gustavo Dudamel and the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform Stravinsky and Schumann's rousing musical depictions of spring.

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Boston

07 Apr 2019

Stravinsky and Schumann with Dudamel and the Boston Symphony

By Kevin Wells

Persistent: ENB's outstanding new triple bill celebrating female choreographers

By Mark Pullinger, 04 April 2019

She Persisted is the sequel to English National Ballet's She Said, a triple bill featuring work by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Stina Quagebeur and Pina Bausch.

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London

05 Apr 2019

Persistent: outstanding triple bill celebrates female choreographers

By Mark Pullinger

Berlin

Absolute Stravinsky, absolute Iván Fischer!

By Zenaida des Aubris, 13 March 2019

The Konzerthaus Berlin devotes a six-day festival to a single composer under a single conductor.

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Berlin

15 Mar 2019

Absolute Stravinsky, absolute Iván Fischer!

By Zenaida des Aubris

Leeds

Last Rites: Puccini meets Stravinsky in Leeds

By Mark Pullinger, 16 February 2019

A daring double bill from Opera North and Phoenix Dance Theatre pairs Jeanguy Saintus' new choreography for The Rite of Spring with a revival of Christopher Alden's production of Gianni Schicchi.

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Leeds

17 Feb 2019

Last Rites: Puccini meets Stravinsky in Leeds

By Mark Pullinger

San Francisco

MTT offers familiar and unfamiliar Stravinsky in San Francisco

By Edward Sava-Segal, 29 September 2018

In a program including both modernist and neoclassical works, Michael Tilson Thomas and the SFO emphasized the common traits characterizing Stravinsky's entire ouevre.

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San Francisco

01 Oct 2018

MTT offers familiar and unfamiliar Stravinsky in San Francisco

By Edward Sava-Segal

Jaap van Zweden signals new rituals for the New York Philharmonic

By Jennifer Gersten, 20 September 2018

Jaap van Zweden commenced his role as music director of the New York Philharmonic with a première by Ashley Fure, Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, and Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major featuring pianist Daniil Trifonov.

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New York City

22 Sep 2018

Jaap van Zweden signals new rituals for the Philharmonic

By Jennifer Gersten

Prom 65: Bychkov shines in Berio’s '60’s fantasy

By David Truslove, 31 August 2018

Semyon Bychkov’s Prom appearances are always fascinating experiences and this was no different, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra on tremendous form.

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London

03 Sep 2018

Prom 65: Bychkov shines in Berio’s '60’s fantasy

By David Truslove

Zurich

Choreographers Marco Goecke and Edward Clug reinvent Stravinsky

By Sarah Batschelet, 14 March 2018

Just as Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Le Sacre du Printemps opened up new musical horizons for dance at the start of the 20th century, Ballett Zürich’s Stravinsky evening sees two leading modern choreographers revive these works.

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Zurich

15 Mar 2018

Goecke and Clug reinvent Stravinsky

By Sarah Batschelet

Lupo’s Ravel with Mena & the LPO steals the show from The Rite of Spring

By Nick Boston, 21 February 2018

Impressive Ravel from Benedetto Lupo, with pleasing Debussy and Delius, and a strong performance of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring from Juanjo Mena and the LPO.

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London

23 Feb 2018

Lupo’s Ravel with Mena & the LPO steals the show

By Nick Boston

Scottish Ballet's Stravinsky Double Bill is a hit in Edinburgh

By Kirsty Morgan, 11 October 2017

Once again, Scottish Ballet produces another winner for the Edinburgh Festival Theatre with a double bill of ballets set to the emotive otherworldly harmonies of composer, Igor Stravinsky.

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Edinburgh

13 Oct 2017

Scottish Ballet's Stravinsky Bill is a Hit

By Kirsty Morgan

Elgar and the Rite open Oundjian's final RSNO season

By Simon Thompson, 06 October 2017

The RSNO season begins with The Rite which ignites… eventually.

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Edinburgh

07 Oct 2017

Elgar and the Rite open Oundjian's final RSNO season

By Simon Thompson

Cleveland

Franz Welser-Möst leads Clevelanders in a ferocious Rite of Spring season opener

By Timothy Robson, 30 September 2017

The Cleveland Orchestra’s 100th anniversary season officially opened with a stunning program that also featured Franz Welser-Möst’s own transcription of Beethoven’s Op.132 string quartet.

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Cleveland

02 Oct 2017

A ferocious Rite of Spring season opener in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson

Supersized, superhuman Stravinsky from Rattle and the LSO

By Sebastian Scotney, 21 September 2017

Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring in one evening: superb, unforgettable storytelling.

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London

22 Sep 2017

Supersized, superhuman Stravinsky from Rattle and the LSO

By Sebastian Scotney

Darmstadt

Mystery, energy and dancing in Darmstadt

By Peter Connors, 25 June 2017

The Staatsorchester Darmstadt under Will Humburg performed three mightly works for large orchestra to bring its season to a close: Kurtág's Stele, Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra and Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.

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Darmstadt

25 Jun 2017

Mystery, energy and dancing in Darmstadt

By Peter Connors

Auckland

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and Rumon Gamba push musical boundaries

By Simon Holden, 11 May 2017

This was a most impressive showing from the orchestra and conductor in which the works of three influential composers given emotionally engrossing treatment.

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Auckland

13 May 2017

Pushing musical boundaries in Auckland

By Simon Holden

The Rite of Spring a highlight from Leif Ove Andsnes and Marc-André Hamelin at Wigmore Hall

By Chris Garlick, 30 March 2017

A top heavy programme marred Leif Ove Andsnes and Marc-André Hamelin's two piano recital at Wigmore Hall, though it had its moments of high inspiration.

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London

31 Mar 2017

The Rite of Spring a highlight from Leif Ove Andsnes and Marc-André Hamelin at Wigmore Hall

By Chris Garlick

A bold triple bill from English National Ballet, bookended by two masters

By Erin Whitcroft, 24 March 2017

English National Ballet's ambitious triple bill does not disappoint; it shows a company on the rise.

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London

27 Mar 2017

A bold triple bill, bookended by two masters

By Erin Whitcroft