Sibelius sperrig und eingängig: das BBC Symphony Orchestra in Zürich

By Thomas Schacher, 17 January 2024

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“was für ein satter Streicherklang, welch ein samtweiches Hornquartett”

Reviewed at Tonhalle: Grosser Saal, Zurich on 15 January 2024

Sibelius, Symphony no. 4 in A minor, Op.63

Sibelius, Symphony no. 2 in D major, Op.43

Sakari Oramo, Conductor

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Sakari Oramo, Yeol Eum Son and the BBC Symphony in Seoul

SangKwon Lee, 26th March

Yeol Eum Son’s Britten Piano Concerto formed the evening’s centre of gravity, played with lucid line, structural command and sudden fire. In Brahms’ Second Symphony, Sakari Oramo found conviction, proportion and a warmth that felt earned rather than applied.

****1

Sakari Oramo and Yeol Eum Son summon up vivid landscapes

Christopher Woodley, 13th March

Yeol Eum Son's superb performances of Bartók and Finzi are matched by intense and heady readings of Stravinsky and Weir by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo.

****1

From snow to sludge: Icelandic music at the Barbican Centre

Marat Ingeldeev, 22nd February

A bewildering evening at the Barbican, where ambitious Icelandic programming collapses under its lofty ambition of defying genres and making music more appealing to a wide variety of audiences.

**111

Fine Lindberg and Stravinsky double bill from the BBC Symphony

Roy Westbrook, 6th February

After a performance of Magnus Lindberg’s First Violin Concerto by Lisa Batiashvili at the Barbican, Stravinsky’s Perséphone stands the test of time.

****1

UK premiere of Julia Wolfe’s unEarth impresses on scale, not substance

Susannah Moody, 23rd January

Wolfe's climate-change oratorio, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, already feels out of date.

**111

Sir James MacMillan delights with his Christmas Oratorio

David Karlin, 19th December

MacMillan's large scale choral work offers a rich variety of texts and musical ideas, the composer conducts the BBC Symphony with unerring precision.

*****

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Thomas Schacher

Thomas Schacher hat an den Universitäten Zürich und Hamburg Musikwissenschaft und Germanistik studiert. Seine Dissertation behandelt die Idee des Dramatischen bei Hector Berlioz. Zudem absolvierte er an der Musikhochschule Zürich eine Ausbildung in Orgel, Klavier und Chorleitung. Er hat im künstlerischen, wissenschaftlichen, journalistischen und pädagogischen Sektor gearbeitet. Während sieben Jahren war er Assistent am Musikwissenschaftlichen Institut der Uni Bern. Während 25 Jahren, bis zum Sommer 2022, hat er als freier journalistischer Mitarbeiter für das Feuilleton der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung geschrieben. Parallel dazu kam die Arbeit mit einem Kirchen- und einem Konzertchor.