Buzzing energy from Vasily Petrenko, Jess Gillam and the EUYO

By Alexander Hall, 22 August 2021

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“like scalding water poured onto blocks of ice, the steam issued forth in scorching wave after wave”

Reviewed at Elbphilharmonie: Grand Hall, Hamburg on 21 August 2021

Weber, Der Freischütz: Overture

Nyman, Where the Bee Dances

Sibelius, Symphony no. 2 in D major, Op.43

Jess Gillam, Saxophone

European Union Youth Orchestra

Vasily Petrenko, Conductor

Exciting but inconsistent playing from the EUYO at Carnegie Hall

Cameron Kelsall, 6th August

Under Iván Fischer's direction, Mahler's First Symphony is notable more for bombastic passion than subtle artistry.

***11

Strong contrasts from Honeck and the EUYO at the Elphi

Alexander Hall, 17th August

No summer hols for the European Union Youth Orchestra as they tour European lands. With Benjamin Grosvenor as soloist and Manfred Honeck at the helm, they take on MacMillan, Prokofiev and Shostakovich in Hamburg's iconic hall.

***11

Eloquence and elegance from the EUYO, Noseda and Cho

Alexander Hall, 19th August

The European Union Youth Orchestra confirms its exceptional quality in Zubel and Tchaikovsky. In Chopin, Seong-Jin Cho shows why he is a rising star of distinction.

****1

EUYO triumphs in Bolzano

Jane Shuttleworth, 19th August

An inspiring sight in a troubled year: a hundred young Europeans coming together in the European Union Youth Orchestra celebrating music and friendship.

****1

Noseda conducts Verdi and Mahler in Ravello

Lorenzo Fiorito, 27th August

Gianandrea Noseda conducts the EUYO at the Ravello Festival, in an unusual pairing of Verdi and Mahler.

****1

Vasily Petrenko and the EUYO in 20th Century symphonic rarities

Chris Garlick, 5th August

One Prom + two oddball 20th century symphonies = a strangely satisfying experience, especially when in the hands of a youth orchestra, evidently open to the technical challenges and quirkiness of this relatively rare concert material.

****1

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Alexander Hall

Alexander Hall divides his time between London and Hamburg, where he had a career in academic administration and teaching. He reviews for Bachtrack and Opera Today, and has also reviewed for Classical Source. A connoisseur of the great orchestras of the world, his musical memories stretch back to Karajan/Berlin Phil, Mravinsky/Leningrad Phil, Bernstein/Vienna Phil, and he has seen most of the great conductors from the past, including Böhm, Klemperer, Kubelik, Ormandy and Szell.

Buzzing energy from Vasily Petrenko, Jess Gillam and the European Union Youth Orchestra