In tempore belli: Britten's War Requiem at the Elbphilharmonie

Teodor Currentzis

Matthias Goerne, Irina Lungu, Teodor Currentzis and Allan Clayton

By Alexander Hall, 17 June 2024

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“Clayton himself was mesmerising, displaying bell-like clarity and with superb articulation”

Reviewed at Elbphilharmonie: Grand Hall, Hamburg on 16 June 2024

Britten, War Requiem, Op.66

Irina Lungu, Soprano

Allan Clayton, Tenor

Matthias Goerne, Baritone

Knabenchor Hannover

London Symphony Chorus

SWR Vokalensemble

SWR Symphony Orchestra

Teodor Currentzis, Conductor

A kaleidoscope of kinetic colour from Currentzis, Avdeeva and the SWR

Alexander Hall, 15th September

Teodor Currentzis, conducting the SWR Symphony Orchestra, and Yulianna Avdeeva do Prokofiev proud in his Third Piano Concerto and Fifth Symphony: all the colours of the rainbow delivered with sophistication, élan and boundless effervescence.

*****

Alina Ibragimova and Nils Mönkemeyer in love with Mozart

Laurence Vittes, 8th May

The soloists turn out to be the perfect couple, while the camerawork covers the action like it was a soccer match.

*****

Spookiness in Stuttgart with Eschenbach and Kopatchinskaja

Alexander Hall, 26th February

The darker sides of Romantic inventiveness are explored in Schumann’s neglected violin concerto and the clandestine woodland rustle of Dvořák’s G major symphony.

****1

Teodor Currentzis and the SWR Symphony triumph in Mahler 9

Alexander Hall, 17th December

Say what you like, Teodor Currentzis understands the music of Mahler, especially in that composer's final symphonic statement, to the manner born.

*****

A study in suffering: Currentzis at the Elbphilharmonie

Alexander Hall, 19th December

Teodor Currentzis, on tour with the SWR Symphony Orchestra, pairs two Russian masterpieces written a century apart: Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony and Schnittke's Viola Concerto with Antoine Tamestit.

****1

Norrington and the SWR in heroic vein

Alexander Hall, 16th March

An overture, a concerto and a symphony by the incomparable Beethoven delivered with heroic commitment by the SWR Symphony Orchestra, Sir Roger Norrington and Francesco Piemontesi.

****1

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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.