Rite and Wrong: Gergiev's LSO Perform Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and Oedipus Rex

By David Fay, 17 May 2012

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Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 15 May 2012

Stravinsky, Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring)

Stravinsky, Oedipus Rex

London Symphony Orchestra

Valery Gergiev, Conductor

Gentlemen of the London Symphony Chorus

Heavenly Mahler – and Strauss – from Lucy Crowe and the LSO

Roy Westbrook, 21st May

Songs and symphonies from Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra, concluding with a vision of “heavenly life” from Gustav Mahler.

****1

Denis Kozhukhin: captivating storytelling with the London Symphony

Clare Varney, 1st May

At the Konzerthaus Dortmund, Sir Antonio Pappano and the LSO are joined by Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin to plunge into the depths of despair in Bernstein’s melancholic The Age of Anxiety.

***11

A dream of a Gerontius from Pappano, the LSO and Chorus

Roy Westbrook, 21st April

Giving their 27th performance of the oratorio, the London Symphony Chorus excel as angelic angels and demonic demons.

****1

Pappano and the LSO: a thrilling collision between heaven and hell

Charlotte Gardner, 16th April

Vilde Frang joins Sir Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican for transcendent Korngold alongside darker fare.

****1

Han Kang’s The White Book takes on a compelling new life

Peter Quantrill, 5th March

At the Barbican, Laura Bowler's new work for Barbara Hannigan translates Han Kang's novel into a soundscape of icy stillness

****1

A curious evening from Noseda, Kopatchinskaja and the LSO

Mark Valencia, 26th February

Good, bad, but never ugly, a curious evening unfolds at the Barbican, inspired at times, ill-judged in places.

***11

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David Fay

David studied Music and French at Bristol University and is now undertaking a PhD in Musicology. His specialism is religious music but his musical passions range from Alkaline Trio to Zadok the Priest.