A message of consolation 150 years on

By Alexander Hall, 11 April 2018

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“Matthias Goerne could almost have been an Old Testament prophet himself”

Reviewed at St Petri Dom, Bremen on 10 April 2018

Brahms, Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem), Op.45

Valentina Farcaş, Soprano

Matthias Goerne, Baritone

Paavo Järvi, Conductor

State Choir Latvija

Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen

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

Fire and fizz at the Elbphilharmonie

Alexander Hall, 31st March

Jump-in concerts can occasionally advance career prospects. Jonathan Bloxham with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen demonstrated the lightness of Mendelssohn in C minor but seriously underplayed the darkness of Schubert in B minor.

***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.

A message of consolation 150 years on: Paavo Järvi directs the Brahms Requiem in Bremen