Prom 9: A lively Beethoven 9 from Runnicles

By Rohan Shotton, 23 July 2018

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“After a shattering opening, the text largely floated down with an airy freedom”

Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall, London on 21 July 2018

Ešenvalds, Shadow (BBC commission: world premiere)

Britten, Sinfonia da Requiem, Op.20

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

Erin Wall, Soprano

Judit Kutasi, Mezzo-soprano

Russell Thomas, Tenor

Franz-Josef Selig, Bass

BBC Proms Youth Choir

World Orchestra for Peace

Simon Halsey, Conductor

Sir Donald Runnicles, Conductor

Diversity within unity: Valery Gergiev conducts the World Orchestra for Peace

Hazel Rowland, 20th July

Valery Gergiev conducts the unique World Orchestra for Peace in a devastating perfomance of Mahler's Sixth Symphony at the BBC Proms. A Strauss rarity and a European premier were programmed alongside.

***11

Prom 26: Valery Gergiev conducts the World Orchestra for Peace

Simon Birch, 5th August

If there were to be one orchestra that is essentially a “dream team”, the World Orchestra for Peace would surely be it.

Prom 14: Haydn's Creation, fresh as a fragrant bouquet

Stephen Pritchard, 29th July

The Proms Youth Chorus and BBC Phil bring brimming new life to Haydn's masterpiece.

****1

Fuel to the Proms fire on the First Night

Nick Boston, 14th July

Mass hysteria, Schiller’s Ode to Joy and Wild Nights – a heady mix for this year’s opening night of the BBC Proms from Edward Gardner and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

****1

Prom 74: An intense Verdi Requiem

Dominic Lowe, 9th September

In the penultimate concert of the 2016 Proms, Marin Alsop drew together some impressive forces for Verdi's Requiem, led by the remarkable soprano Tamara Wilson.

****1

Beauty trumps drama in Vienna PhilGerontius

David Karlin, 11th September

Simon Rattle and the Vienna Philharmonic present Elgar's Dream of Gerontius as a well crafted gem of the English choral tradition, but fall short of a dramatic outpouring of human emotion and religious fervour.

***11

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Rohan Shotton

Rohan has reviewed concerts and opera across the UK and Europe, but chiefly in Manchester, where he enjoys conducting and playing percussion and piano. He works as a hospital doctor, having studied in St Andrews and Manchester, and tweets as @RohanShotton.

Prom 9: A lively Beethoven 9 from Runnicles and the World Orchestra for Peace