A tour of British music: Clyne, Britten and Elgar with the BBC Symphony Orchestra

By Madelaine Jones, 14 January 2013

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Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 11 January 2013

Clyne, Night Ferry (UK première)

Britten, Piano Concerto, Op.13

Elgar, Symphony no. 1 in A flat major, Op.55

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Andrew Litton, Conductor

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Wolfe's climate-change oratorio, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, already feels out of date.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

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Madelaine Jones

Madelaine is a pianist and writer studying at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. As a winner of the Gladys Puttick Improvisation Competition as part of a dance-piano duo, she has an active interest in cross-arts collaboration. Visit here to find out more.