Melnikov and Staier bring intimacy and fresh edge to Schubert

By Nick Boston, 11 January 2019

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“sublime sweetness and tragic longing”

Reviewed at Wigmore Hall, London on 10 January 2019

Schubert, Six Grand Marches and Trios, D.819 (March & Trio No. 3 in B minor)

Schubert, Four Ländler, D.814

Schubert, Six Polonaises, D.824 (No. 1 in D minor)

Schubert, Deux Marches Caractéristiques in C major, D.968b

Schubert, Divertissement sur des motifs originaux français in E minor, D.823 no.2

Schubert, Rondo in A major, D.951

Schubert, Eight Variations on an original theme in A flat major, D.813

Schubert, Fantasia for piano 4 hands in F minor, D.940

Alexander Melnikov, Piano

Andreas Staier, Piano

Bach sheds light in an impressively dark outing from the ACO

Nick Boston, 21st March

Energetic commitment from the ACO at the Barbican, with precision and edge from Alexander Melnikov and Jeroen Berwaerts in an evening of darkness and light.

****1

Energetic Scottish Symphony lifts a weighty evening with the LPO

Nick Boston, 20th January

Ponomarchuk and the LPO raise the spirits in Felix Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony after an underwhelming first half at the Brighton Dome.

***11

Aimez-vous Rachmaninov? Alexander Melnikov at Musikfest Berlin

Elena Luporini, 27th August

Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov is joined on stage at the Philharmonie by Alexander Rudin, Nadezhda Pavlova and Olga Pashchenko to give the audience a taste of Rachmaninov's chamber repertoire.

****1

Mixed performances in Ligeti and Mozart from Les Siècles

David Truslove, 20th August

Three concertos and a symphony made for an unusual but generous programme, but Les Siècles illustrate that versatility can come with mixed blessings.

***11

Prom 19: From dawn to death with Thomas Dausgaard and the BBCSSO

Leighton Jones, 2nd August

Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra fills the Royal Albert Hall, while Schumann’s piano concerto is followed by MacMillan’s masterpiece The Confession of Isobel Gowdie.

****1

A great Wigmore evening with Melnikov and Cuarteto Casals

Sebastian Scotney, 20th September

Three great and contrasting works from different centuries, in superlative performances; a surprising programme with a real touch of alchemy.

*****

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Nick Boston

Nick has an MA in Music, specialising in performance and repertoire. His particular passions are choral music, chamber music and opera, with a particular interest in early music. He sings in a number of choirs in the south east of England, plays the piano and occasionally dusts off the violin. He writes about music here.

Melnikov and Staier bring intimacy and fresh edge to Schubert at Wigmore Hall