A Joyous Ninth from Alan Gilbert and the Gewandhaus

By Gavin Dixon, 13 September 2014

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Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall, London on 12 September 2014

Cerha, Paraphrase on the Opening of Beethoven's Symphony no. 9

Beethoven, Symphony no. 9 in D minor "Choral", Op.125

Christina Landshamer, Soprano

Gerhild Romberger, Mezzo-soprano

Steve Davislim, Tenor

Dmitry Belosselskiy, Bass

Members of the Leipzig Opera Chorus

Leipzig Gewandhaus Choir

Leipzig Gewandhaus Children's Choir

London Symphony Chorus

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

Alan Gilbert, Conductor

Isabelle Faust shines, Nelsons and the Gewandhaus disappoint

David Karlin, 26th August

The German violinist gives us plenty of Czech brio in Dvořák; conductor and orchestra display many good qualities but fail to thrill.

**111

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at Oper Leipzig

Mark Pullinger, 25th May

Two notable debuts dominate Oper Leipzig's notable Lady Macbeth revival: Kristine Opolais as Katerina and Andris Nelsons in the pit.

****1

Total Shostakovich in Leipzig

Mark Pullinger, 24th May

The combined forces of the Gewandhaus and Boston Symphony unite under Andris Nelsons for a searing Leningrad Symphony, while the Quatuor Danel tackles the string quartets.

*****

Star conductor: Blomstedt returns to the Leipzig Gewandhaus

Zenaida des Aubris, 13th November

Herbert Blomstedt conducts Schubert and Berwald... and picks up a medal on his return to the Leipzig Gewandhaus.

*****

Spellbinding Parsifal caps Oper Leipzig's massive Wagner 22 Festival

Ako Imamura, 14th July

Ulf Schirmer bows out as General Music Director as the last of Wagner's 13 operas completes a successful Festival Wagner 22 in Leipzig.

****1

Sublime Strauss from Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester

Dominic Lowe, 9th May

A visit to London from Nelsons is always an occasion. The first of two programmes dedicated to Strauss demonstrated why the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig is among the best in the world.

****1

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Gavin Dixon

Gavin Dixon is a writer, journalist and editor specialising in classical music. He writes for publications such as Gramophone, Classical Music and BBC Music Magazine. Gavin has a PhD on the symphonies of Alfred Schnittke and is a member of the editorial team for the “Alfred Schnittke Collected Works” edition. His website is here.

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