An International Composers Competition in St. Petersburg: Part 2

By Paul Kilbey, 22 April 2012

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Reviewed at Shostakovich Philharmonic Hall: Grand Hall, St Petersburg on 19 April 2012

Danilov, The Divine Liturgy for mixed choir

Larin, Calling for the Vigil

Zakharov, Eastertide

Belyaev, Three Russian Canticles

Popov, Come ye, we'll bow

Chernysheva, Gospel scenes

Opera Choir of the Mikhailovsky theatre

Vladimir Stolpovskikh, Conductor

St Petersburg Youth Chamber Choir

Yulia Khutoretskaya, Choirmaster / chorus director

New Orthodox music in a theatrical St Petersburg setting

Gavin Dixon, 7th July

Presenting new Russian Orthodox music in a theatrical setting suggests new possibilities for the tradition, most ambitiously in the field of opera.

***11

Anna Geniushene impresses Singapore in early Chopin and Brahms

Chang Tou Liang, 14th June

Anna Geniushene makes a welcome Singapore return, demonstrating that knows exactly what she is all about.

****1

Lise Davidsen's exquisite Schubert Lieder at the Aldeburgh Festival

Eleanor Knight, 13th June

The Norwegian soprano impresses in a Lieder programme that proves the highlight of the Aldeburgh Festival’s opening weekend.

*****

Andrey Boreyko and Maximilian Hornung make Sydney Symphony debuts

Zoltán Szabó, 12th June

An unusual combination of 20th-century Russian masterworks herald debut appearances by both conductor and soloist in Sydney.

****1

Branca’s Hallucination City: 100 electric guitars at Lincoln Center

Kurt Gottschalk, 12th June

The plugged-in six-string is the sound of New York City and Branca’s Symphony no. 13 (Hallucination City) for 100 guitars and drums is revived at Lincoln Center.

*****

Beethoven 9 ends the RSNO’s season with blockbuster flair

Simon Thompson, 12th June

The wider RSNO family give their all in a blockbuster Beethoven Ninth Symphony to end their season.

*****

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Paul Kilbey

Paul was Reviews Editor at Bachtrack from 2012 to February 2014. He has written on music and culture for publications including Culture Wars, the Huffington Post, the Independent and the Guardian. He holds BA and MPhil degrees in music from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and is particularly passionate about contemporary music of all types. His website is here.