All glitter without any real gold: a flat finish to Prague Spring

By Frank Kuznik, 06 June 2022

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“Nelsons seemed most interested in the pop of the percussion and the gymnastics in the woodwinds”

Reviewed at Municipal House: Smetana Hall, Prague on 3 June 2022

Gubaidulina, Fairytale Poem

Shostakovich, Symphony no. 9 in E flat major, Op.70

Dvořák, Symphony no. 6 in D major, Op.60

Strauss II, Wo die Zitronen blüh'n! (Where the Lemons Blossom), Op.364

Vienna Philharmonic

Andris Nelsons, Conductor

Redemption and musical caffeine: Nelsons conducts Mahler 8 in Vienna

Mark Pullinger, 10th May

Sunday morning Mahler at the Wiener Konzerthaus sees Andris Nelsons concluding his symphony cycle with the Vienna Philharmonic in shattering fashion.

****1

Wrangling the octopus: Mahler’s Ninth with Sir Simon Rattle

Chanda VanderHart, 17th April

Less a symphony, more a force of nature, Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in a turbulent, yet spacious reading of Mahler's Ninth Symphony in the Musikverein.

****1

Shared language and living history: Zubin Mehta and the Vienna Phil

Chanda VanderHart, 19th March

Zubin Mehta, Pinchas Zukerman and the Vienna Philharmonic meet in repertoire they know intimately, illuminating it through mutual understanding.

*****

Vienna Philharmonic closes Carnegie residency

Edward Sava-Segal, 1st March

Andris Nelsons pairs Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra with Sibelius’ Second Symphony to conclude the Vienna Philharmonic's latest Carnegie Hall residency.

****1

Contemplation and exuberance: Vienna Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall

Susan Stempleski, 28th February

Andris Nelsons conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in the New York premiere of a solemn, modernist work paired with two high-spirited symphonies from the 18th and 19th centuries.

****1

A vanished Old World with the Vienna Philharmonic in Hamburg

Mengguang Huang, 20th January

A Vienna Philharmonic evening conjures a vanished world: Strauss’ muscular drama and intimate humour, Haydn’s inward gravity and a graceful waltz to close.

****1

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Frank Kuznik

Frank Kuznik is the former Editor-in-Chief and Culture Editor of The Prague Post, Central Europe’s premier English-language weekly newspaper. He currently divides his time between Prague and his hometown in the US, Cleveland, where he covers northeast Ohio's dynamic classical music scene. In Prague he is an habitué of the Rudolfinum, National Theater, State Opera and other storied classical music venues, and an unabashed fan of Czech music.