Successful resurrection of Farrenc's Third Symphony by Insula Orchestra

By Dominic Lowe, 10 March 2018

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“a clear identity, a unique compositional voice”

Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 8 March 2018

Beethoven, Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C major, Op.56

Farrenc, Symphony no. 3 in G minor, Op.36

Auber, Le Domino noir: Entr'acte

Insula orchestra

Laurence Equilbey, Conductor

Alexandra Corunova, Violin

Natalie Clein, Cello

Elisabeth Brauß, Piano

Funereal Fauré and Gounod from Equilbey, accentus and Insula

David Karlin, 20th November

Gorgeous French music, polished choral singing and excellent soloists are marred by an overwhelmingly dark timbre and unsympathetic video.

***11

Darkness and light: Equilbey's period Fidelio in concert

Kevin W Ng, 11th May

Laurence Equilbey makes a convincing case for a younger, fresher Fidelio played on period instruments.

****1

Laurence Equilbey and Insula fly the flag for Farrenc in Paris

Mark Pullinger, 8th March

Louise Farrenc bucked the trend by composing symphonies at a time when Paris had turned its back on the symphony.

***11

Weber's Freischütz minus the magic at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées

Mark Pullinger, 19th October

A disappointing staging of Weber's supernatural opera by Compagnie 14:20 in Paris

**111

Superb Lucio Silla in Vienna

Jonathan Sutherland, 27th April

Early Mozart opera seria triumphs in Vienna’s ‘other house’.

****1

Dancing bear, tame beasts: Insula's Beethoven

Mark Pullinger, 8th March

An all-Beethoven evening at the Philharmonie where the orchestral playing lacked bite, but Nicholas Angelich provided warmth and humanity in the Fourth Piano Concerto.

***11

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Dominic Lowe

Dominic Lowe recently completed a degree in Classics, and one of his great interests is the reception of Greece and Rome in opera. A regular opera-goer since his very early teens, he is particularly keen on the hidden operatic gems of the 19th century. He is largely based in the South of England.