Beguiling Strauss and surging Shostakovich in Birmingham

By Nick John Whittle, 14 October 2018

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Reviewed at Symphony Hall, Birmingham on 13 October 2018

Rachmaninov, The Rock, Op.7

Strauss R., Freundliche Vision, Op.48 no.1

Strauss R., Das Bächlein, Op.88 no.1

Strauss R., Winterweihe, Op.48 no.4

Strauss R., Ich wollt ein Sträußlein binden, Op.68 no.2

Strauss R., Waldseligkeit (Woodland Bliss), Op.49 no.1

Strauss R., An die Nacht, Op.68 no.1

Strauss R., Meinem Kinde, Op.37 no.3

Strauss R., Cäcilie, Op.27 no.2

Shostakovich, Symphony no. 5 in D minor, Op.47

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Xian Zhang, Conductor

Fatma Said, Soprano

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.

*****

A trio of exiled composers: Petrenko and the RPO at the RFH

David Truslove, 23rd March

Assured performances from the RPO as part of its ongoing “Lights in the Dark” series that brought career correspondences between three markedly different composers.

****1

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Nick John Whittle

Nick is a specialist freelance copywriter with over ten years’ experience of producing content for a wide range of companies and entertainment websites. After leaving school he studied clarinet, composition and piano at Universities in Edinburgh and London, and later joined the chorus of Mid Wales Opera for its 1997 season. He still teaches budding clarinettists but now only sings as a last resort.