Scheherazade through a monochrome veil

By Mark Pullinger, 03 May 2018

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“Trpčeski was fully immersed in his voyage through The Arabian Nights”

Reviewed at Wigmore Hall, London on 2 May 2018

Grieg, Holberg Suite, Op.40

Mendelssohn, Song without words in E major, Op.19b no.1

Mendelssohn, Song without words in A major "Hunting Song", Op.19b no.3

Mendelssohn, Song without words in F sharp minor "Venetian boat song", Op.30 no.6

Mendelssohn, Song without words in E flat major, Op.53 no.2

Mendelssohn, Song without words in C minor, Op.38 no.2

Mendelssohn, Song without words in G major, Op.62 no.1

Mendelssohn, Song without words in F sharp minor, Op.67 no.2

Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade, Op.35 (trans. Paul Gilson)

Grieg, Lyric Pieces, Op.12 no.2: Vals

Rimsky-Korsakov, The Tale of Tsar Saltan: The Flight of the Bumblebee

Mendelssohn, Song without words in G minor "Venetian boat song", Op.19b no.6

Simon Trpčeski, Piano

Eliahu Inbal enlivens the Singapore Symphony

Chang Tou Liang, 28th March

The nonagenarian conductor enlivens Singapore's Esplanade Concert Hall with masterly readings of Shostakovich and Rachmaninov

****1

Echoes of the Americas: Sierra and Ginastera meet Dvořák in Vienna

Chanda VanderHart, 5th April

Under the baton of Domingo Hindoyan, the Tonkünstler brings Latin America and Dvořák's New World Symphony to the Musikverein.

***11

Intruiging French and Polish programme from Søndergård and the RSNO

David Smythe, 7th June

Filmic Grażyna Bacewicz, virtuosic Saint-Saëns with Simon Trpčeski, intruiging Lutosławski and a freshly minted Ravel’s Boléro are expertly conducted by Thomas Søndergård.

****1

Vänskä and Trpčeski make an incandescent match with Seattle Symphony

Thomas May, 21st March

Thrilling Tchaikovsky, chilling Prokofiev and a discovery filled with sonic imagination mark the return of Osmo Vänskä and Simon Trpčeski to Seattle Symphony.

****1

Spectacular Saint-Saëns at the RSNO’s Valentine’s Concert

Simon Thompson, 16th February

Trpčeski sparkles in Saint-Saëns' Second Piano Concerto in an adventurous Valentine's treat, while a slimmed-down fantasia makes Szymanowski's King Roger digestible.

****1

A rare outing for Prokofiev 4 with Noseda and the LSO

Alexander Hall, 10th December

Gianandrea Noseda’s awareness of colour, texture and detail repays dividends in the symphony, whereas Simon Trpčeski’s absence of muscle and full-blooded Romantic sentiment does Brahms no favours in the concerto.

***11

More reviews...

Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

Scheherazade through a monochrome veil: Simon Trpčeski at Wigmore Hall