A feast for the ears at the opening night of Haarlem's Koorbiënnale

By Renée Reitsma, 27 June 2011

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Reviewed at Philharmonie: Grote Zaal, Haarlem on 24 June 2011

Feldman, Rothko Chapel

Gubaidulina, Jetzt immer Schnee

Ešenvalds, Moon Dogs (World Première)

Manneke, Topos

Nederlands Kamerkoor

Het Muziek (formerly Asko|Schönberg)

Reinbert de Leeuw, Conductor

Through the looking glass: Amsterdam Sinfonietta are a class act

Clare Varney, 12th May

Candida Thompson’s performance of Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel with understated beauty, immaculate phrasing and restrained emotion, steals the show.

****1

Sublime singing in Scenes from Goethe's Faust

Jenny Camilleri, 6th December

Soloists and choir, headed by a spellbinding Christian Gerhaher, brought real lustre to Schumann’s treatment of Goethe’s magnum opus.

****1

Parallel symmetries and random synchronicities at Festival d’Aix

Pwyll ap Sion, 13th July

In his 2016 opera Blank Out, Dutch composer Michel van der Aa has managed to create a new kind of operatic ‘reality’ that resonates powerfully with today’s Zeitgeist. Highly recommended.

*****

Buoyant Brahms’ First from the RCO under Iván Fischer

Jenny Camilleri, 6th April

Bach’s Magnificat featured superlative solos from both singers and musicians, but the RCO and Iván Fischer reached a higher plane in a beautifully crafted and optimistic Brahms’ First Symphony.

****1

Fabulous soloists in the RCO’s St John Passion

Jenny Camilleri, 27th March

Superlative vocal and instrumental soloists, led by Michael Schade as a vividly intense Evangelist, impress in Bach’s St John Passion at the Concertgebouw.

****1

A poignantly beautiful opening to Valletta's festival

Katy Wright, 10th January

Robert White's Lamentations bring a programme of English polyphony to a memorable climax.

****1

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Renée Reitsma

Renée lives in Essex and is a PhD student in Philosophy. She loves all sorts of classical and non-classical music, but has a particular love for Dmitri Shostakovich. She is in charge of the Heavy Symphonic playlist at Dutch classical music site 24classics and blogs here.