Prom 12: Barenboim hits his stride in Beethoven 5 and 6

By David Allen, 24 July 2012

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Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall, London on 23 July 2012

Beethoven, Symphony no. 6 in F major "Pastoral", Op.68

Boulez, Mémoriale (....explosante-fixe.... (originel))

Boulez, Messagesquisse, for solo cello & 6 cellos

Beethoven, Symphony no. 5 in C minor, Op.67

Guy Eshed, Flute

Hassan Moataz El Molla, Cello

Daniel Barenboim, Conductor

West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

Joy and hope from Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

Chris Garlick, 4th November

The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra are on fire with the joy of music-making to the delight of a very sympathetic and enthusiastic audience at London's Southbank Centre.

*****

Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan return to the BBC Proms

Asher Rubenstein, 11th August

Marking 25 years of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim returns to the Proms with violin legend Anne-Sophie Mutter.

***11

West-Eastern Divan Orchestra shows its stars at the Salzburg Festival

Alexander Hall, 13th August

Daniel Barenboim offered an unusually Germanic take on César Franck, while section leaders Michael Barenboim and Kian Soltani pulled double duty as soloists in Brahms' Double Concerto.

****1

BTHVN 2020 celebrated in Bonn by Barenboim and the WEDO

Zoltán Szabó, 17th December

A mixed performance from Bonn, but there was magic from Barenboim's fingers in the Third Piano Concerto.

***11

Resounding: Barenboim brings music back to the Pierre Boulez Saal

Hugo Shirley, 14th August

The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra presents a superb programme executed with power and urgency to herald the return of public music-making at the Pierre Boulez Saal.

*****

Bluster and conviction from Argerich and Barenboim

Mark Thomas, 12th August

There was vibrancy and subtlety in these cultured performances of Schubert and Lutosławski, with Martha Argerich still showing how it’s done with ‘that’ Tchaikovsky concerto.

****1

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David Allen

David is a PhD student at Columbia University, where he studies international history. A lapsed pianist and organist, he writes on concerts on both sides of the Atlantic, and blogs at Unpredictable Inevitability.