An exciting Beethoven programme in Madrid

By David Smythe, 11 May 2015

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Reviewed at Teatro Monumental, Madrid on 8 May 2015

Beethoven, Piano Concerto no. 4 in G major, Op.58

Beethoven, Symphony no. 9 in D minor "Choral", Op.125

Orquesta Sinfónica y Coro de RTVE

Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Conductor

Vadym Kholodenko, Piano

Sabina Puértolas, Soprano

José Luis Sola, Tenor

David Menéndez, Baritone

Lorca retold in Met's remarkable restaging of Golijov’s Ainadamar

Kurt Gottschalk, 15th October

Deborah Colker directs an ambitious show, which works incredibly well with storytelling as emotive as it is narrative, confronting death and loss in sharp, weary pains.

*****

A compelling Eroica and ruminative Dvořák in Dublin

Andrew Larkin, 3rd November

Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing unearths the subtleties and plaintive lyricism of Dvorak's violin concerto while Miguel Harth-Bedoya and the NSO deliver an exhilarating Eroica.

***11

An ornithological interlude in Sydney

Tony Burke, 11th November

Alan Holley's Oboe Concerto formed the centrepiece of Miguel Harth-Bedoya's Sydney Symphony programme.

*****

Cold Mountain: Higdon's maiden operatic voyage

Michael Wade Simpson, 17th August

There was a nod to John Adams in the score, but also a kind of edgy Americana, complete with powerful writing for male chorus, and an attempt to communicate the flavor of rural North Carolina, not far from where Higdon grew up.

****1

El anhelo de la luz al final del viaje: Sánchez-Verdú y Mendelssohn

Leonardo Mattana Ereño, 12th February

Dos mundos muy diferentes en lo musical se daban la mano en el plano de lo simbólico, en la dimensión del viaje y de la luz, como lugar de salvación, protección o iluminación.

****1

High-wire pianism from Vadym Kholodenko at Wigmore Hall

Jessica Duchen, 9th December

An evening of bone-shaking intensity with the Ukrainian pianist offering a challenging programme of Beethoven's Hammerklavier and music by Lyatoshynsky and Liszt, with no safety net and no hint of compromise.

*****

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David Smythe

David the farmer was drawn into music through choirs, orchestras, taking part in and directing 'serious' opera as a student. Passionate about live classical music, particularly chamber opera, unusual pieces and events and giving the next generation the tools to engage with the classical world.

RTVE shines in an exciting Beethoven programme in Madrid