Bringing fire to Nielsen's Inextinguishable

By Penny Homer, 19 February 2015

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“an astounding symphonic performance, full of “that which craves life”, as Nielsen wrote”

Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 18 February 2015

Sibelius, The Oceanides symphonic poem for orchestra, (Aallottaret) Op.73

Zemlinsky, 6 Maeterlinck Songs, Op.13

Ravel, Le Tombeau de Couperin

Nielsen, Symphony no. 4, "The Inextinguishable," Op.29

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Sakari Oramo, Conductor

Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo-soprano

Sakari Oramo, Yeol Eum Son and the BBC Symphony in Seoul

SangKwon Lee, 26th March

Yeol Eum Son’s Britten Piano Concerto formed the evening’s centre of gravity, played with lucid line, structural command and sudden fire. In Brahms’ Second Symphony, Sakari Oramo found conviction, proportion and a warmth that felt earned rather than applied.

****1

Sakari Oramo and Yeol Eum Son summon up vivid landscapes

Christopher Woodley, 13th March

Yeol Eum Son's superb performances of Bartók and Finzi are matched by intense and heady readings of Stravinsky and Weir by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo.

****1

From snow to sludge: Icelandic music at the Barbican Centre

Marat Ingeldeev, 22nd February

A bewildering evening at the Barbican, where ambitious Icelandic programming collapses under its lofty ambition of defying genres and making music more appealing to a wide variety of audiences.

**111

Fine Lindberg and Stravinsky double bill from the BBC Symphony

Roy Westbrook, 6th February

After a performance of Magnus Lindberg’s First Violin Concerto by Lisa Batiashvili at the Barbican, Stravinsky’s Perséphone stands the test of time.

****1

UK premiere of Julia Wolfe’s unEarth impresses on scale, not substance

Susannah Moody, 23rd January

Wolfe's climate-change oratorio, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, already feels out of date.

**111

Sir James MacMillan delights with his Christmas Oratorio

David Karlin, 19th December

MacMillan's large scale choral work offers a rich variety of texts and musical ideas, the composer conducts the BBC Symphony with unerring precision.

*****

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Penny Homer

Penny Homer graduated from the University of Nottingham with a Bachelor of Music degree in 2003, where she was also a choral scholar at St Barnabas Cathedral. She is keenly interested in arts and education, and her work across both includes stints at Akademi South Asian Dance UK and Benslow Music Trust. Additionally she worked for Edition Peters in their sales department before joining the Association of British Choral Directors as their Training Manager. Penny currently sings at Eton Lower Chapel, St Andrews Fulham Fields, Wimbledon Choral Society, Londinium and Vocal Constructivists, and continues her vocal studies with Ian Kennedy.

Bringing fire to Nielsen's Inextinguishable: BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo