Charisma and consummate skill: Merel Quartet in Zurich

By Sarah Batschelet, 22 September 2020

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Reviewed at Tonhalle Maag, Zurich on 20 September 2020

Haydn, String Quartet no. 26 in G minor, Op.20 no.3, Hob III:33

Schubert, String Quartet no. 14 in D minor, "Death and the Maiden", D.810

Merel Quartet

Mary Ellen Woodside, Violin

Edouard Mätzener, Violin

Alessandro D'Amico, Viola

Rafael Rosenfeld, Cello

Mischievous Pan at Hong Kong Sinfonietta's French May

Christopher Halls, 30th May

French clarinettist Raphaël Sévère unearths beauty in Nielsen's concerto and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta impress in two settings of Pan's antics at the French May Festival.

****1

Christian Gerhaher: pure poetry in glorious Wigmore Hall recital

Dominic Lowe, 29th May

Christian Gerhaher and Gerold Huber survey composers from Beethoven to Berg in a varied and deeply moving recital.

*****

An azure secret: Yunchan Lim’s star power at Wigmore Hall

Asher Rubenstein, 29th May

The Korean pianist astonishes in Schubert and Scriabin, in a performance sure to be a highlight of Wigmore Hall’s 125th anniversary festivities.

*****

An end-of-term Mahler 6 from the Hallé in Manchester

Rohan Shotton, 28th May

Kahchun Wong conducts The Hallé in Mahler's epic Sixth Symphony, although directorial idiosyncrasies sometimes get in the way of the music.

***11

Mallwitz and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin conquer Mahler’s Fifth

Mengguang Huang, 27th May

At the Elbphilharmonie, Joana Mallwitz treats Mahler's Fifth as an argument to be won, and she knows exactly how it will end.

****1

Elim Chan takes the New York Philharmonic to the ball

Susan Stempleski, 27th May

The Hong Kong-born conductor conducts a masterful performance of selections from Prokofiev’s Cinderella and Philharmonic Principal Carter Brey bids farewell in Saint-Saëns’ First Cello Concerto.

****1

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Sarah Batschelet

Sarah Batschlelet, long based in Switzerland, took a degree in Art History from Smith College, Northampton, Massachuetts, and lives as a freelance writer and editor near Zurich.