Not with a whimper but a bang

By Alexander Hall, 27 September 2018

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“throwing up jets of furious energy, steam hissing from all the fissures”

Reviewed at Royal Festival Hall, London on 26 September 2018

Stravinsky, Symphony in Three Movements

Adès, In Seven Days

Adès, 3 Mazurkas, Op.27 (no. 2)

Lutosławski, Symphony no. 3

Thomas Adès, Conductor

Kirill Gerstein, Piano

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Glyndebourne’s first Tosca: vocally strong but imperfect

David Karlin, 21st May

Ted Huffman brings some interesting ideas to his first Glyndebourne production. Excellent singing is let down by indifferent physical acting.

***11

Wretches like us: the LPO’s concert Wozzeck cuts to the quick

Peter Quantrill, 25th April

Beautifully prepared singing and playing brings out the tender side to Berg's modernist classic as part of the Southbank Centre’s Multitudes festival.

****1

Karabits and Szeps-Znaider carouse with the LPO

Christopher Woodley, 8th April

The sparkle of Max Bruch's Fecond Violin Concerto and the drama of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony overcome the gloom of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s dark forebodings.

****1

Portraits and pictures from Ibragimova, Gardner and the LPO

Roy Westbrook, 1st April

From Three Screaming Popes to Pictures at an Exhibition, a pair of works inspired by paintings frame a violin concerto by Béla Bartók at London's Southbank Centre.

****1

Ticciati and the LPO deliver epic Sibelius plus lively Wennäkoski

Nick Boston, 25th March

Sibelius' Kullervo receives a dramatic performance from Ticciati and the LPO, with strong turns from Shenyang, Miina-Liisa Värelä and the YL Male Voice Choir.

****1

Paavo Järvi marks his new LPO appointment in Tchaikovsky and Sibelius

Mark Valencia, 4th March

Paavo Järvi demonstrates just why the London Philharmonic Orchestra has chosen him as its next Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor.

*****

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Alexander Hall

Alexander Hall divides his time between London and Hamburg, where he had a career in academic administration and teaching. He reviews for Bachtrack and Opera Today, and has also reviewed for Classical Source. A connoisseur of the great orchestras of the world, his musical memories stretch back to Karajan/Berlin Phil, Mravinsky/Leningrad Phil, Bernstein/Vienna Phil, and he has seen most of the great conductors from the past, including Böhm, Klemperer, Kubelik, Ormandy and Szell.

Not with a whimper but a bang: the LPO, Adès and Gerstein launch the new season