NHK Symphony Orchestra's magnificent Mahler Six

By Roy Westbrook, 07 March 2017

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“a sense of theatre, of performing”

Reviewed at Royal Festival Hall, London on 6 March 2017

Takemitsu, Requiem for string orchestra

Mahler, Symphony no. 6 in A minor "Tragic"

NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo

Paavo Järvi, Conductor

María Dueñas lets Beethoven breathe at Suntory Hall

SangKwon Lee, 19th September

María Dueñas’ Tokyo performance of Beethoven's Violin Concerto is less about display than about the living drama between held breath and release.

*****

Luisi opens NHKSO's new season with Franz Schmidt

Nahoko Gotoh, 13th September

As a leading exponent of Franz Schmidt's music, conductor Fabio Luisi leads the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo in a rare performance of his Fourth Symphony for the orchestra's season opener.

****1

A versatile NHK shines at Prague Spring

Frank Kuznik, 15th May

Conducted by Fabio Luisi, Japan's premier orchestra serves up a superb blend of Eastern and Western music and influences.

****1

Joyful Mozart from Ton Koopman and the NHK Symphony

Nahoko Gotoh, 21st September

At Suntory Hall, Ton Koopman and the NHK Symphony Orchestra bring elegance and exuberance to an all-Mozart programme including a flute concerto featuring its principal flautist.

****1

Luisi and the NHK SO begin partnership with a Requiem for our times

Nahoko Gotoh, 11th September

For whatever reason Fabio Luisi chose Verdi's Requiem for his inauguration concert with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo, it turned out to be an apt and poignant choice.

****1

Radiant Szymanowski from Isabelle Faust in Tokyo

Nahoko Gotoh, 13th February

One of the few upsides to the current Covid-19 pandemic for the classical music world in Japan is that it has given opportunities to young home-grown talent.

****1

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Roy Westbrook

Roy Westbrook gained a diploma in music history at London University (Morley College) and was for some years the head of music day schools at Oxford University, where he also led music summer schools. After some years leading the University's business school he has returned to music teaching and writing, and recently took part in the Arts in Residence courses on Bruckner, Mahler and Bach He is co-author (with Terry Barfoot) of a history of opera, and has taught day schools on Sibelius in Oxford and elsewhere.

NHK Symphony Orchestra's magnificent Mahler Six in London