Soloists of the LPO

By Helen Fraser, 02 May 2011

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Reviewed at Wigmore Hall, London on 30 April 2011

Mozart, Quintet for Horn and Strings in E flat major, K407 (K386c)

Strauss R., Capriccio, Op.85: Sextet

Schubert, String Quintet in C major, D.956

Soloists of the London Philharmonic Orchestra

John Ryan, French horn

From the Canyons to the Stars: A Messiaenic journey with the LPO at The Rest is Noise

David Fay, 2nd November

No exploration of the relationship between spirituality and 20th-century music can delve to any sorts of depth without discovering the figure of Olivier Messiaen, the religiously-influenced composer par excellence in a century characterised by the emancipation of art from religion.

****1

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

Savall conducts Beethoven and Haydn at the Elbphilharmonie

Mengguang Huang, 3rd April

Beethoven's Christus am Ölberge is paired with Haydn's Die sieben letzten Worte, a journey from agony to transcendence in which the agony proves the more honest companion.

***11

Portraits and pictures from Ibragimova, Gardner and the LPO

Roy Westbrook, 1st April

From Three Screaming Popes to Pictures at an Exhibition, a pair of works inspired by paintings frame a violin concerto by Béla Bartók at London's Southbank Centre.

****1

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Helen Fraser

Helen is an oboist at the Royal College of Music. She is delighted to be based in London and so able to take advantage of the wide variety of concerts the city provides. She also loves to teach and is keen to use this and every other opportunity to interest new people in classical music.