John Williams at St George's Bristol

Looking at its past, its present and its future, the Boston Symphony returns to Symphony Hall after the Covid hiatus. 

On entering St George’s Bristol, we were given a sheet of paper with a biography and the names of a handful of composers – the programme hadn’t been announced beforehand, and was only revealed during the concert by John Williams himself. He introduced each piece with a little context, varying from a piece’s personal relevance, to its historical background.

In a recent interview, BBC Radio 3 Controller Roger Wright was asked "What music would you want played at your funeral?" His reply: "Spanish guitar music, because I wouldn’t be there to hear it. If you ask my colleagues they’d say Spanish guitar music is one of my blind spots."Full marks to Wright for laying his cards on the table, perhaps.

Le chef allemand délivre une véritable leçon de direction d'orchestre dans la Première Symphonie de Prokofiev et dans Petrouchka de Stravinsky, éclipsant les Variations rococo peu inspirées de Jeremias Fliedl.

Dans le Concerto pour violon de Beethoven, le violoniste allemand et la phalange parisienne ont montré leur belle complicité, avant une Première Symphonie de Brahms décevante sous la direction de Cristian Măcelaru.

Le pianiste japonais a livré une interprétation joueuse et virevoltante du Concerto pour piano n° 21 de Mozart, avant que le Philhar' ne s'attaque à une Septième Symphonie de Bruckner conquérante.