In Trauer und Trost vereint: René Jacobs mit Haydns Stabat mater

By Jens Klier, 08 May 2021

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Reviewed at Don Bosco Basel, Basel on 8 May 2021

Haydn, Stabat Mater, Hob. XXbis

Basel Chamber Orchestra

René Jacobs, Conductor

Sophie Karthäuser, Soprano

Sophie Harmsen, Mezzo-soprano

Steve Davislim, Tenor

Arttu Kataja, Bass

Zürcher Sing-Akademie

Florian Helgath, Choirmaster / chorus director

Schumann v Schumann: a surprise victor in Vienna concerto play-off

Mark Pullinger, 11th February

Alexandra Dovgan plays piano concertos by Clara and Robert Schumann at the Konzerthaus, but it's the Kammerorchester Basel's performance of a forgotten symphony which most impresses.

****1

Handel's somewhat rare oratorio Susanna in the Halle Handel Festival

Sandra Bowdler, 14th June

Handel's oratorio Susanna is often considered to be less than consistently dramatic and this performance in the Halle Handel Festival did little to dispel that view.

***11

Swish playing from a Swiss orchestra

Dominic Lowe, 20th November

Heinz Holliger conducted a fine interpretation of Schubert's Ninth, but it was Stephen Hough's performance of Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 that really made the evening.

****1

Daniel Hope and the Basel Chamber Orchestra

Mark Valencia, 18th April

Hope can spin high-lying musical phrases with a sweetness and suspension that few of his contemporaries can match.

****1

Sol Gabetta a stylish soloist with the Basel CO

David Larkin, 29th November

The final stop on the Basel Chamber Orchestra's Australian tour at the Sydney Opera House saw Sol Gabetta in fine fettle as soloist in Cello Concertos by Saint-Saëns and the Latvian Vasks.

***11

Mozart disappoints, but Rameau and Bizet compensate

David Pinedo, 25th July

It was an evening for showing off. The Basel Chamber Orchestra (being Bartoli and Scholl’s frequent partners) performed Bizet and Rameau, plus a Mozart concerto with conductor Christian Zacharias directing from the piano.

***11

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Jens Klier

Vor seinem Rechtswissenschafts-Studium in Bayreuth und Bonn widmete sich Jens Klier seit frühester Kindheit musikalisch der Violine (Repertoire vom 17. bis 20. Jahrhundert). Während er zudem mit Gesang und dem Leben im Orchesterbetrieb groß wurde, entwickelte sich ein besonderes Interesse an der sogenannten 'Historischen Aufführungspraxis' und authentischen Instrumenten. Diese Leidenschaft hält sich hartnäckig, sodass er sie mit Vorliebe für das Barocke anstatt mit Finger und Bogen nun in Form der Musikkritik zu Gehör bringt. U.a. Telemann-Fan, Liebhaber J. S. Bachs Genies und Entdecker neuerer, seltenerer 'Alter Musik'.