Pastoral mysticism at the Proms

By Penny Homer, 29 July 2014

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Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall, London on 28 July 2014

Dove, Gaia Theory (BBC commission: world première)

Mozart, Piano Concerto no. 23 in A major, K488

Ravel, Daphnis et Chloé

Ingrid Fliter, Piano

BBC Symphony Chorus

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Josep Pons, Conductor

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Wolfe's climate-change oratorio, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, already feels out of date.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

*****

Ermonela Jaho gives a tragic twist to Puccini's La rondine

Peter Quantrill, 5th December

A new edition of Puccini's score springs to life in a meticulously prepared Opera Rara concert performance at the Barbican.

****1

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Penny Homer

Penny Homer graduated from the University of Nottingham with a Bachelor of Music degree in 2003, where she was also a choral scholar at St Barnabas Cathedral. She is keenly interested in arts and education, and her work across both includes stints at Akademi South Asian Dance UK and Benslow Music Trust. Additionally she worked for Edition Peters in their sales department before joining the Association of British Choral Directors as their Training Manager. Penny currently sings at Eton Lower Chapel, St Andrews Fulham Fields, Wimbledon Choral Society, Londinium and Vocal Constructivists, and continues her vocal studies with Ian Kennedy.

Pastoral mysticism as Gaia Theory takes centre stage at the Proms