Fire and fizz at the Elbphilharmonie

By Alexander Hall, 01 April 2019

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“never in danger of activating the fire sprinklers”

Reviewed at Elbphilharmonie: Grand Hall, Hamburg on 31 March 2019

Tüür, Flamma

Schubert, Symphony no. 8 in B minor "Unfinished", D.759

Mendelssohn, Symphony no. 1 in C minor, Op.11

Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen

Jonathan Bloxham, Conductor

Ben Goldscheider plays new Watkins concerto with DKam

Clare Varney, 8th June

The French horn is the real winner in Bremen as Ben Goldscheider continues to expand the horn repertoire and bring his instrument to a wider audience.

****1

Schubert that doesn't sing? Paavo Järvi and DKam at the Elbphi

Alexander Hall, 10th April

Veronika Eberle shows why the Brahms violin concerto is one of the mainstays of the repertory, whereas Paavo Järvi doesn't quite tap into the unique voice of Schubert successfully.

***11

Järvi and Kammerphilharmonie Bremen bring Haydn to Tokyo Opera City

Nahoko Gotoh, 8th December

Three Haydn symphonies grace the bill in Järvi's onging project which started in earnest last year in Vienna.

****1

A message of consolation 150 years on

Alexander Hall, 10th April

Celebrating the 150th anniversary of its first performance, Paavo Järvi directs the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen in Brahms' Requiem, with the Latvian State Choir and two outstanding soloists.

***11

Järvi's Brahms lights up the Aix Easter Festival

Mark Valencia, 6th April

Aimez-vous Brahms? For anyone who thought they didn’t, this sharp, disciplined band will have made converts.

****1

Järvi’s baton permeates a nexus of tight-knit shapes

Sophia Lambton, 3rd August

The conductor guided us on a tour through a museum where Erkki-Sven Tüür, Mozart and Brahms reside in spheres of different shades and spaces – and yet each remain enclosed in a prefigured structure.

***11

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Alexander Hall

Alexander Hall divides his time between London and Hamburg, where he had a career in academic administration and teaching. He reviews for Bachtrack and Opera Today, and has also reviewed for Classical Source. A connoisseur of the great orchestras of the world, his musical memories stretch back to Karajan/Berlin Phil, Mravinsky/Leningrad Phil, Bernstein/Vienna Phil, and he has seen most of the great conductors from the past, including Böhm, Klemperer, Kubelik, Ormandy and Szell.

Fire and fizz from the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen