Prom 13: a warm, if fatiguing, tribute to Sir Malcolm Sargent

By Dominic Lowe, 26 July 2017

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“It was interesting to see the extremely careful balance Davis brought to the orchestra”

Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall, London on 24 July 2017

Traditional, The British National Anthem (arr. Henry Wood)

Berlioz, Le Carnaval romain, Op.9

Schumann, Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.54

Liszt, Widmung, transcription of Schumann's liebeslied for piano, S 566

Elgar, Cockaigne (In London Town) - overture for orchestra, Op.40

Walton, Façade: Suite no. 1

Walton, Façade, Suite no. 2: Popular song

Holst, The Perfect Fool Ballet Suite

Delius, On hearing the first cuckoo in spring

Britten, The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op.34

Beatrice Rana, Piano

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Sir Andrew Davis, Conductor

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Wolfe's climate-change oratorio, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, already feels out of date.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

Dominic Lowe recently completed a degree in Classics, and one of his great interests is the reception of Greece and Rome in opera. A regular opera-goer since his very early teens, he is particularly keen on the hidden operatic gems of the 19th century. He is largely based in the South of England.