Britten Sinfonia at Milton Court

By Renée Reitsma, 28 November 2013

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Reviewed at Guildhall School of Music & Drama: Milton Court Concert Hall, London on 24 November 2013

Muhly, Three Songs

Bartók, String Quartet no. 4 in C major, Sz.91

Works by Britten

Tüür, Lighthouse

Weir, I give you the end of a golden string

Works by Nordheim

Muhly, Material in E flat major for Violin and Drone

Berg, Kanon

Pärt, Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten

Crumb, Black Angels

Britten, Serenade for tenor, horn and strings, song cycle, Op.31

Mark Padmore, Tenor

Pekka Kuusisto, Violin

Stephen Bell, French horn

Britten Sinfonia

Two funerals and a bedding at the Linbury Theatre

Eleanor Knight, 1st May

Tales of love and loss as operas by Elena Langer, Charlotte Bray and Elizabeth Maconchy form a varied triple bill in this showcase for The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Artists.

****1

At Aldeburgh Festival, Nicholas Daniel plays the Pied Piper of Cool

Christopher Woodley, 13th June

For the Aldeburgh Festival's 75th anniversary celebrations, Daniel delivered a great performance of Vaughan Williams's Oboe Concerto, in the company of Gustav and Imogen Holst.

****1

Britten Sinfonia ablaze on the BBC Proms’ hottest night

Nick Boston, 6th September

Inventiveness, joyful performance and intuitive communication from Thomas Gould and the Britten Sinfonia in recompositions from Richter, Auerbach and Tippett.

*****

Donizetti's L’esule di Roma: a Roman triumph for Opera Rara

Dominic Lowe, 11th May

This is the 27th Donizetti opera given the Opera Rara treatment and their ability to spot a hidden gem remains as adroit as ever.

****1

Love and death in Scotland: Mercadante’s Il proscritto

David Karlin, 28th June

A great orchestral performance of an exciting score don't quite mask the dramatic weaknesses of Opera Rara's latest.

***11

Holst's Sāvitri: near-death experience in the Barbican

Roy Westbrook, 4th May

A game of three halves from the Britten Sinfonia, with a late appearance by three star soloists.

****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.

Britten Sinfonia's voyage to Britten at Milton Court