A deep dive into the work of Nadia and Lili Boulanger

By Timmy Fisher, 07 April 2019

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“almost Stravinskian in its disregard for convention”

Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 6 April 2019

Boulanger, Psalm 24: La terre appartient à l'Eternel

Boulanger, Vieille prière bouddhique

Boulanger, Faust et Hélène

Boulanger, Fantaisie variée, for piano and orchestra

Boulanger, Psalm 130 “Du fond de l’abîme”

Alexandra Dariescu, Piano

Katarina Dalayman, Soprano

James Way, Tenor

Samuel Sakker, Tenor

Benedict Nelson, Baritone

BBC Symphony Chorus

BBC Symphony Orchestra

James Gaffigan, Conductor

Sakari Oramo, Yeol Eum Son and the BBC Symphony in Seoul

SangKwon Lee, 26th March

Yeol Eum Son’s Britten Piano Concerto formed the evening’s centre of gravity, played with lucid line, structural command and sudden fire. In Brahms’ Second Symphony, Sakari Oramo found conviction, proportion and a warmth that felt earned rather than applied.

****1

Sakari Oramo and Yeol Eum Son summon up vivid landscapes

Christopher Woodley, 13th March

Yeol Eum Son's superb performances of Bartók and Finzi are matched by intense and heady readings of Stravinsky and Weir by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo.

****1

From snow to sludge: Icelandic music at the Barbican Centre

Marat Ingeldeev, 22nd February

A bewildering evening at the Barbican, where ambitious Icelandic programming collapses under its lofty ambition of defying genres and making music more appealing to a wide variety of audiences.

**111

Fine Lindberg and Stravinsky double bill from the BBC Symphony

Roy Westbrook, 6th February

After a performance of Magnus Lindberg’s First Violin Concerto by Lisa Batiashvili at the Barbican, Stravinsky’s Perséphone stands the test of time.

****1

UK premiere of Julia Wolfe’s unEarth impresses on scale, not substance

Susannah Moody, 23rd January

Wolfe's climate-change oratorio, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, already feels out of date.

**111

Sir James MacMillan delights with his Christmas Oratorio

David Karlin, 19th December

MacMillan's large scale choral work offers a rich variety of texts and musical ideas, the composer conducts the BBC Symphony with unerring precision.

*****

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Timmy Fisher

Timmy read musicology at Durham University, studying composition with Richard Rijnvos. He has written for Gramophone and The Spectator, and composes for both film and the concert hall. He has a special interest in contemporary choral music, and co-hosts The Classical Music Pod with Sam Poppleton, available on iTunes and Spotify. Follow him on twitter at @timmy_fisher.

Total Immersion: A deep dive into the work of Nadia and Lili Boulanger