Mystery and melancholy, but missing the madness

By Jonathan Sutherland, 14 May 2018

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“technically very well played but lacked the raw edginess which Mahler surely intended”

Reviewed at NOSPR Concert Hall, Katowice on 11 May 2018

Mahler, Symphony no. 3 in D minor

Alexander Liebreich, Conductor

Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

Boys' Choir of the Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic

Lidia Matynian, Choirmaster / chorus director

NFM Choir

Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny, Choirmaster / chorus director

Bernarda Fink, Mezzo-soprano

Marin Alsop conducts Skrowaczewski, Panufnik and Prokofiev in Katowice

Linda Holt, 8th March

Marin Alsop conducts the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in colorful repertoire including a concerto by Stanisław Skrowaczewski.

****1

A celebratory platter of Polish music in the Elbphilharmonie

Alexander Hall, 10th September

The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Liebreich and soloist Szymon Nehring serve up works by four Polish composers in celebration of the centenary of Poland regaining its national independence.

***11

A Requiem to soothe troubled souls at NOSPR in Katowice

David Karlin, 17th May

Debussy's early cantata is played with verve by NOSPR but exposes its composer's inexperience; Mansurian's memorial to genocide shows off the exceptional musicianship of the RIAS Kammerchor.

***11

Zimerman / Polish National Radio Symphony at MITO

James Imam, 21st September

The all-Polish roster of Krystian Zimerman and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra displayed consummate artistry in a tenebrous programme of Lutosławski and Brahms.

****1

Sublime Mahler and Penderecki: The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Bristol

Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, 24th February

What a concert – the programme and the musicans were sublime. This time, Colston Hall got it spot on with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. Seeing all of the credits for the orchestra in the back of the programme prepared me for a big and bold sound that was just short of 100 musicians. Each and every one of them contributed to a fantastic sound under the baton of Jacek Kaspszyk.

*****

L'Orchestre de la radio polonaise en digne ambassadeur à Bruxelles

Patrice Lieberman, 25th March

Dans un concert qui est allé crescendo, l’Orchestre symphonique national de la radio polonaise et sa cheffe Marin Alsop ont mis en lumière leur répertoire dans la capitale européenne.

***11

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Jonathan Sutherland

Jonathan Sutherland is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg. He is also an internationally renowned concert pianist specializing in the music of the 1930s. Jonathan’s first operatic experience was hearing Maria Callas sing Tosca in Covent Garden and he has since heard performances in all continents of the world including over 60 different productions at the Wiener Staatsoper. He has written for The Australian, Opera Today and The Opera Critic as well as Bachtrack. Jonathan speaks English, French, German and Italian fluently and is based in the south of France near Nice.

Alexander Liebreich’s Mahler 3 in Katowice has mystery and melancholy but misses the madness