A new accordion concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Jakub Hrůša

By Sarah Reid, 27 November 2012

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Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 24 November 2012

Janáček, The Cunning Little Vixen: Suite

Hind, The Tiniest House of Time, for accordion and orchestra (BBC commission, world première)

Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade, Op.35

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Jakub Hrůša, Conductor

James Crabb, Accordion

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Wolfe's climate-change oratorio, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, already feels out of date.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

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Sarah Reid

Sarah studied Music at Cambridge University, graduating in 2010 and now works for Rhinegold Publishing coordinating their music directories and listings supplements. Sarah is a regular concert- and theatre-goer and appreciates most music – with the exception of heavy metal and Wagner.