Ravenna Festival: in paradise, everything is just a little too quiet

By Stephen Pritchard, 11 July 2021

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“...it’s hard to imagine the work better sung. These young artists perform with deep commitment”

Reviewed at Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna on 9 July 2021

Silvestrov, In Memoriam (World premiere)

Silvestrov, O luce etterna (World premiere)

Kiev Chamber Choir

Mykola Hobdych, Conductor

Russian Spring: Elder and the Hallé reunite in glorious style

Leighton Jones, 7th May

The music of Glinka, Stravinsky, Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky fills Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall with mystery, intrigue and jollity.

****1

Classical grace and Romantic eloquence from the Philharmonia

Christopher Woodley, 7th May

The contrasting delights of Schumann, Brahms and Dvořák are powerfully evoked in performances of charm, eloquence and high drama from the Philharmonia, continuing the orchestra’s 80th anniversary celebrations.

****1

Spacious Prokofiev from Seong-Jin Cho and the Munich Philharmonic

SangKwon Lee, 6th May

Seong-Jin Cho’s premise in Prokofiev is compelling – to reconcile Russian gravitational attack and monumental construction with clarity, colour and contrapuntal legibility.

***11

Marc-André Hamelin surveys two centuries of piano sonatas

Sam Jacobson, 5th May

From Haydn and Beethoven to Weinberg and Rachmaninov, Marc-André Hamelin reveals the piano sonata as a form of breadth, flexibility and expressive power.

****1

Subtle magic: Zubin Mehta celebrates his 90th birthday in Berlin

Zenaida des Aubris, 3rd May

Zubin Mehta celebrates his 90th birthday with a concert at the Staatsoper Berlin.

*****

LA Phil celebrates the California spirit with Andrés Orozco-Estrada

Cameron Kelsall, 3rd May

The program features Maria Dueñas in Korngold's Violin Concerto and a moving tribute to LA native Michael Tilson Thomas

****1

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Stephen Pritchard

Stephen Pritchard began singing as a treble at the age of eight and progressed to become a tenor in Portsmouth Cathedral Choir, the Gibbons Consort and now the English Chamber Choir. Writing about music has been at the core of his 40-year career in journalism, chiefly at the Observer. He has been known to play a pretty mean jazz double bass.