Soviet blockbusters from the St Petersburg Phil

By Mark Pullinger, 29 January 2017

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“Argerich's playing was crisp, balanced with inner steel”

Reviewed at Royal Festival Hall, London on 29 January 2017

Khachaturian, Spartacus: Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia

Khachaturian, Spartacus: Dance of the Gaditanian Maidens and Victory of Spartacus

Prokofiev, Piano Concerto no. 3 in C major, Op.26

Liszt, Widmung, transcription of Schumann's liebeslied for piano, S 566

Shostakovich, Symphony no. 5 in D minor, Op.47

Prokofiev, Cinderella, Op.87: no. 50 Amoroso

St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra

Yuri Temirkanov, Conductor

Martha Argerich, Piano

St Petersburg meets Beethoven and Mahler in Lugano

Sarah Batschelet, 16th September

Ion Marin and the St Petersburg Philharmonic perform in the beautiful LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura.

***11

Trampled by the Russian troika

Jane Shuttleworth, 26th January

The St Petersburg Philharmonic unleash all the unstoppable forces of Russian excess in a programme of Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev at Sage Gateshead.

****1

Temirkanov and Leticia Moreno: tradition and the future, together in Barcelona

Pep Gorgori, 23rd May

Temirkanov avoided any useless gesture, while Leticia Moreno explored all the pain, sadness and violence of Shostakovich’s Concerto

*****

Taking Shostakovich on tour

Frank Kuznik, 1st March

In the American heartland, a persuasive evening of musical diplomacy from the St Petersburg Philharmonic.

****1

Variety and dance from the St Petersburg Phil

Jane Shuttleworth, 21st January

The St Petersburg Philharmonic make their contribution to Sage Gateshead's year long theme of dance, delighting a sold-out Hall One with their luxurious sound.

****1

St Petersburg Phil shows us the best of Russia and Britain

Penny Homer, 8th September

Elgar shines after a fresh performance of Tchaikovsky with Julia Fischer and the St Petersburg Philharmonic.

***11

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

Defying dictators: Soviet blockbusters given the St Petersburg Philharmonic treatment