Women in the driving seat at the Elbphilharmonie

By Alexander Hall, 16 December 2018

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“de la Parra cut a dynamic figure on the podium in a performance of considerable electricity”

Reviewed at Elbphilharmonie: Grand Hall, Hamburg on 16 December 2018

Stravinsky, Pulcinella: Suite

Saint-Saëns, Cello Concerto no. 1 in A minor, Op.33

Revueltas, La noche de los mayas

Offenbach, Les Larmes de Jacqueline, Op.76 no.2 (Encore)

Alondra de la Parra, Conductor

Camille Thomas, Cello

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

Frauenliebe und -sterben: Kratzer’s triple bill at Staatsoper Hamburg

Mengguang Huang, 15th April

Director Tobias Kratzer engineers a haunting pasticcio of Schumann, Bartók and Zemlinsky, tracing the domestic sphere’s shift from romantic surrender to the blood-soaked secrets of a century-spanning house.

****1

Fast Forward: Hamburg Ballet’s mixed bill proves a mixed success

Vikki Jane Vile, 22nd February

All that glistens... the world premiere of Xie Xin’s The Moon in the Ocean is the highlight of a mixed bill programme spanning 90 years of choreography.

***11

Vampires, Disney and Donald Trump: Monster’s Paradise in Hamburg

Kevin W Ng, 1st February

Olga Neuwirth and Elfriede Jelinek take on Donald Trump in their latest operatic collaboration.

****1

Kent Nagano's farewell to Hamburg: Nante and Brahms in dialogue

Mengguang Huang, 29th June

Kent Nagano’s farewell in Hamburg showcases a spiritual dialogue between tradition and innovation, pairing Brahms’ profound Fourth Symphony with the luminous world premiere of Alex Nante’s Anāhata.

****1

Unsuk Chin's opera Die dunkle Seite des Mondes premieres in Hamburg

Mengguang Huang, 31st May

At Staatsoper Hamburg, Unsuk Chin’s new opera The Dark Side of the Moon immerses audiences in an hypnotic, introspective journey, where dreams, science and psyche collide in a rigorously crafted, thought-provoking spectacle.

****1

5-star musicianship in Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie

Simon Thompson, 6th April

Our writer is dazzled by the venue, but the music that the Hamburgers play in it proves pretty dazzling too; Martinů’s Double Concerto is a showcase for both the players and the hall.

*****

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Alexander Hall

Alexander Hall divides his time between London and Hamburg, where he had a career in academic administration and teaching. He reviews for Bachtrack and Opera Today, and has also reviewed for Classical Source. A connoisseur of the great orchestras of the world, his musical memories stretch back to Karajan/Berlin Phil, Mravinsky/Leningrad Phil, Bernstein/Vienna Phil, and he has seen most of the great conductors from the past, including Böhm, Klemperer, Kubelik, Ormandy and Szell.