Thorvaldsdottir UK premiere in ambitious Aldeburgh Festival concert

Hannu Lintu conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra

Hannu Lintu and the BBC Symphony Orchestra

By Rose Dodd, 18 June 2023

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Reviewed at Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Snape on 16 June 2023

Saariaho, Ciel d'hiver

Thorvaldsdottir, Aiōn (UK premiere)

Mahler, Symphony no. 1 in D major "Titan"

BBC Symphony Orchestra

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Wolfe's climate-change oratorio, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, already feels out of date.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

Amsterdam based composer Rose Dodd as well as writing for TEMPO (UK), seismograf (DK), Positionen (GER) also writes books about contemporary music, most recently on composers Christopher Fox and Louis Andriessen. Since being awarded a Mention at Prix Ars Electronica'99, her own work draws on inspiration found in the current Norwegian scene, combining ambient electronics with quiet focus on instrumental timbre.

Find more about Rose at Muck Rack and LinkedIn