Quartet for the End of Time: Mercury Quartet at the French Institute

By Arthur Keegan-Bole, 01 June 2012

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Reviewed at Institut français (French Institute), London on 29 May 2012

Boulez, Dérive 1

Grisey, Talea

Messiaen, Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time)

The Mercury Quartet

Robin Green, Conductor

Inspired by Debussy: The Mercury Quartet presents new work

Paul Kilbey, 26th November

Of the two major composers to have had anniversaries in 2012, maybe it’s ironic that it has been the 150-year-old Claude Debussy, rather than the 100-year-old John Cage, who has largely been celebrated with silence.

***11

Françoise-Green Piano Duo at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival

Simon Rees, 16th May

Piano duo Antoine Françoise and Robin Green perform a challenging, innovative and entertaining lunchtime recital.

****1

Heritage Opera present Jonathan Dove's new opera, Mansfield Park

Laura Kate Wilson, 6th August

It's extremely rare to see a small opera company commission a brand new work, but that's exactly what Heritage Opera, who regularly present chamber operas in the north-west of England, have done.

Andris Nelsons and the BSO arrive in New York, with baggage in tow

Cameron Kelsall, 9th April

In his first New York appearance since the termination of his contract as BSO Music Director, Nelsons courts public sympathy and makes some thrilling music.

***11

Nelson Goerner shines with the CBSO and Rachmaninov's Rhapsody

Robert Gainer, 9th April

The CBSO present the work of three European émigré composers of the 1930s and 40s, who reimagined their musical influences with contrasting approaches and results.

****1

Karabits and Szeps-Znaider carouse with the LPO

Christopher Woodley, 8th April

The sparkle of Max Bruch's Fecond Violin Concerto and the drama of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony overcome the gloom of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s dark forebodings.

****1

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Arthur Keegan-Bole

Arthur is a composer currently focusing on opera. His desire to promote contemporary music led him to set up and co-edit The Octogenarian, a light-hearted classical music review pamphlet distributed in Bristol and to curate the annual CMV series of concerts.