Polished Bell leads ASMF down under

Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Joshua Bell directs the Academy of St Martin in the Fields

By David Larkin, 09 October 2023

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“Bell, who was mostly content to rely on his well-trained band to follow him via his body language”

Reviewed at Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall, Sydney on 7 October 2023

Prokofiev, Symphony no. 1 in D major "Classical", Op.25

Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64

Mendelssohn, Symphony no. 3 in A minor, "Scottish", Op.56

Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Joshua Bell, Violin, Director

Joshua Bell and the ASMF thrill in Schumann and Brahms

Mark Valencia, 20th January

At Cadogan Hall, Bell’s account of Robert Schumann’s Spring Symphony is as sunny an interpretation as you’re likely to hear.

****1

A snowbound evening with Joshua Bell: comfort and unease in Hamburg

Mengguang Huang, 8th January

Amid snowbound Hamburg, Joshua Bell leads the Academy of St Martin in the Fields with warmth and lyricism, though Brahms’ concerto reveals limits, while Schumann’s symphony fully blossoms.

***11

Highly individual Mozart from Buniatishvili

Nick Boston, 9th December

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields give exciting performances at the Barbican, with idiosyncratic Mozart from Buniatishvili.

***11

Handel's Messiah overpowered by massed forces at the Proms

Nick Boston, 7th September

Massed choral forces, a strong solo line up and expanded orchestral forces overpower Handel at the end of the BBC Proms Choral Day.

***11

Depth and delivery: Joshua Bell and the ASMF in San Francisco

Lois Silverstein, 7th April

On a tour of the United States, Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields perform Mendelssohn, Schumann and Vince Mendoza in Davies Symphony Hall.

*****

Mozart and Beethoven from the ASMF and Bell in Sydney mini-residency

Zoltán Szabó, 8th October

Sydney revels in Joshua Bell's masterful violin playing and leadership of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields on their Australian tour.

****1

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David Larkin

David Larkin is a Senior Lecturer in Musicology at the University of Sydney, where he specialises in nineteenth-century music. Educated at Dublin and Cambridge, he has published on the music of Richard Strauss, Liszt and Wagner. As a reviewer, he has reported from the Bayreuth Festival and reviewed opera and concert performances in four different countries. He gives regular pre-concert talks and educational lectures at venues all around Sydney and enjoys singing with choirs and playing the piano (in private).