St Paul's Cathedral a moving location for Blitz Requiem première

By Jonathan Russell, 30 September 2013

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Reviewed at St Paul's Cathedral, London on 26 September 2013

Pärt, Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten

Works by Tallis

Vaughan Williams, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

Vaughan Williams, Toward the Unknown Region

Goode, Blitz Requiem

The Bach Choir

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

David Hill, Conductor

Emma Tring, Soprano

Susanna Spicer, Mezzo-soprano

Matthew Long, Tenor

Robert Davies, Baritone

Korngold and Mahler from Ray Chen, Vasily Petrenko and the RPO

Roy Westbrook, 12th May

Few violin concertos soar from the first bar as Erich Korngold’s does, especially as in Ray Chen's high-wire account at the Royal Albert Hall.

****1

Turangalîla underwhelms at the Southbank’s Multitudes festival

Roy Westbrook, 23rd April

Serious music ill-matched by filmic limitations as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra tackles Messiaen’s epic “symphony” as part of the Southbank’s cross-genre festival.

**111

Edusei’s Beethoven and Rangwanasha’s Strauss thrill at Cadogan Hall

Christopher Woodley, 26th February

Kevin John Edusei, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra celebrate the joys of a life well-lived – rounded off to the sounds of larks ascending.

****1

Petrenko’s searing Shostakovich overshadows Grosvenor’s Beethoven

Nick Boston, 3rd February

Stylish Beethoven from Benjamin Grosvenor and dramatic Ustvolskaya from Yuriy Yurchuk, but Petrenko and the RPO’s blistering Shostakovich steals the show.

****1

Charisma and colour from Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Philharmonic

Chris Garlick, 7th September

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s BBC Proms matinee proves an ideal opportunity to demonstrate their strengths in a programme of Respighi, Milhaud and Vaughan Williams.

****1

Perception-altering Shostakovich from Serebrennikov and Petrenko

Mark Pullinger, 27th April

As part of the Southbank Centre's Multitudes festival, Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony is given a stunning visual direction by Kirill Serebrennikov to match the RPO's gripping playing.

*****

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Jonathan Russell

Jonathan Russell is a London-based composer, clarinetist, conductor, and educator, active in music ranging from classical to contemporary to klezmer. He is a member of the Edmund Welles bass clarinet quartet and the Sqwonk bass clarinet duo, and co-founded San Francisco’s Switchboard Music Festival. He holds degrees from Harvard University and San Francisco Conservatory, and is a PhD Candidate at Princeton University.