Performer: Philippe Cassard

Waltzing on a Monday evening? Wigmore Hall is not exactly the Tower Ballroom, but last night it did a fair impression as a temple of dance when Philippe Cassard played the third of his Debussy Perspectives series.

“Wigmore Hall is flooded now!” confessed Philippe Cassard. It was Claude Debussy who left the tap running, with every form of precipitation – rain, snow, fog – pouring from the Steinway's keyboard, trickling from fountain, springing from river beds. 

At Wigmore Hall, Philippe Cassard took us on an engrossing picture postcard tour of Debussy’s musical world. 

Natalie Dessay’s recital at the Maison Symphonique last night should have been an art song lover’s dream come true. Instead the audience was treated to a bizarre spectacle of over-expression and under-singing.

Réduit au piano et privé de sa fameuse ouverture par Philippe Cassard, l'opéra de Haydn perd un peu de son âme mais bénéficie heureusement d'un quatuor vocal inspiré.

La symphonie emblématique du compositeur de La Côte-Saint-André a bénéficié de l'engagement d'un bel Orchestre National de France, malheureusement émoussé par la direction de Thomas Hengelbrock.