A kaleidoscope of kinetic colour from Currentzis, Avdeeva and the SWR

By Alexander Hall, 16 September 2021

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“like the freezing of raindrops falling gently onto a sheet of ice below”

Reviewed at Elbphilharmonie: Grand Hall, Hamburg on 15 September 2021

Prokofiev, Piano Concerto no. 3 in C major, Op.26

Szpilman, Suite "The Life of the machines" (Toccatina)

Prokofiev, Symphony no. 5 in B flat major, Op.100

Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet, Suite no. 2: Montagues and Capulets

Yulianna Avdeeva, Piano

SWR Symphony Orchestra

Teodor Currentzis, Conductor

In tempore belli: Britten's War Requiem at the Elbphilharmonie

Alexander Hall, 16th June

As Teodor Currentzis' time in charge of the SWR Symphony Orchestra draws to a close, he bids farewell in a series of nationwide performances of Britten's memorial to the pity of war.

****1

Alina Ibragimova and Nils Mönkemeyer in love with Mozart

Laurence Vittes, 8th May

The soloists turn out to be the perfect couple, while the camerawork covers the action like it was a soccer match.

*****

Spookiness in Stuttgart with Eschenbach and Kopatchinskaja

Alexander Hall, 26th February

The darker sides of Romantic inventiveness are explored in Schumann’s neglected violin concerto and the clandestine woodland rustle of Dvořák’s G major symphony.

****1

Teodor Currentzis and the SWR Symphony triumph in Mahler 9

Alexander Hall, 17th December

Say what you like, Teodor Currentzis understands the music of Mahler, especially in that composer's final symphonic statement, to the manner born.

*****

A study in suffering: Currentzis at the Elbphilharmonie

Alexander Hall, 19th December

Teodor Currentzis, on tour with the SWR Symphony Orchestra, pairs two Russian masterpieces written a century apart: Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony and Schnittke's Viola Concerto with Antoine Tamestit.

****1

Norrington and the SWR in heroic vein

Alexander Hall, 16th March

An overture, a concerto and a symphony by the incomparable Beethoven delivered with heroic commitment by the SWR Symphony Orchestra, Sir Roger Norrington and Francesco Piemontesi.

****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.

A kaleidoscope of kinetic colour from Currentzis, Avdeeva and the SWR Symphony