Total Immersion: The Rite of Spring 2013 at the Barbican

By Emily Owen, 25 September 2013

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 22 September 2013

Weber, Invitation to the Dance, Op.65 (orch. Berlioz)

Chopin, Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante, Op.22

Chopin, Grande Polonaise Brillante in E flat major for piano and orchestra, Op.22

Borodin, Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances

Chopin, Grande valse brillante (arr. Stravinsky)

Stravinsky, Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring)

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Alexander Vedernikov, Conductor

Alexei Volodin, Piano

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Wolfe's climate-change oratorio, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, already feels out of date.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

*****

Ermonela Jaho gives a tragic twist to Puccini's La rondine

Peter Quantrill, 5th December

A new edition of Puccini's score springs to life in a meticulously prepared Opera Rara concert performance at the Barbican.

****1

More reviews...

Emily Owen

A postgraduate student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama specialising in early music, Emily Owen is a freelance soprano, singing with numerous ensembles. She deputises in churches around London and also manages the newly formed London Youth Choir. Her website is here.