Two sides of Joshua Bell with the ASMF

By Alexander Hall, 13 August 2018

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“This Beethoven, however, was more of the street-fighting and barricades variety”

Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall, London on 12 August 2018

Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night's Dream: Overture, Op.21

Saint-Saëns, Violin Concerto no. 3 in B minor, Op.61

Bridge, Lament (Catherine, aged 9, ‘Lusitania’ 1915)

Beethoven, Symphony no. 4 in B flat major, Op.60

Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Joshua Bell, Violin, Director

Joshua Bell and the ASMF thrill in Schumann and Brahms

Mark Valencia, 20th January

At Cadogan Hall, Bell’s account of Robert Schumann’s Spring Symphony is as sunny an interpretation as you’re likely to hear.

****1

A snowbound evening with Joshua Bell: comfort and unease in Hamburg

Mengguang Huang, 8th January

Amid snowbound Hamburg, Joshua Bell leads the Academy of St Martin in the Fields with warmth and lyricism, though Brahms’ concerto reveals limits, while Schumann’s symphony fully blossoms.

***11

Highly individual Mozart from Buniatishvili

Nick Boston, 9th December

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields give exciting performances at the Barbican, with idiosyncratic Mozart from Buniatishvili.

***11

Handel's Messiah overpowered by massed forces at the Proms

Nick Boston, 7th September

Massed choral forces, a strong solo line up and expanded orchestral forces overpower Handel at the end of the BBC Proms Choral Day.

***11

Depth and delivery: Joshua Bell and the ASMF in San Francisco

Lois Silverstein, 7th April

On a tour of the United States, Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields perform Mendelssohn, Schumann and Vince Mendoza in Davies Symphony Hall.

*****

Mozart and Beethoven from the ASMF and Bell in Sydney mini-residency

Zoltán Szabó, 8th October

Sydney revels in Joshua Bell's masterful violin playing and leadership of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields on their Australian tour.

****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.

Prom 40: Two sides of Joshua Bell with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields