A study in suffering: Currentzis at the Elbphilharmonie

By Alexander Hall, 20 December 2018

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“Tamestit’s solo voice radiated utter identification with the music”

Reviewed at Elbphilharmonie: Grand Hall, Hamburg on 19 December 2018

Schnittke, Concerto for viola and orchestra

Tchaikovsky, Symphony no. 5 in E minor, Op.64

Antoine Tamestit, Viola

SWR Symphony Orchestra

Teodor Currentzis, Conductor

In tempore belli: Britten's War Requiem at the Elbphilharmonie

Alexander Hall, 16th June

As Teodor Currentzis' time in charge of the SWR Symphony Orchestra draws to a close, he bids farewell in a series of nationwide performances of Britten's memorial to the pity of war.

****1

A kaleidoscope of kinetic colour from Currentzis, Avdeeva and the SWR

Alexander Hall, 15th September

Teodor Currentzis, conducting the SWR Symphony Orchestra, and Yulianna Avdeeva do Prokofiev proud in his Third Piano Concerto and Fifth Symphony: all the colours of the rainbow delivered with sophistication, élan and boundless effervescence.

*****

Alina Ibragimova and Nils Mönkemeyer in love with Mozart

Laurence Vittes, 8th May

The soloists turn out to be the perfect couple, while the camerawork covers the action like it was a soccer match.

*****

Spookiness in Stuttgart with Eschenbach and Kopatchinskaja

Alexander Hall, 26th February

The darker sides of Romantic inventiveness are explored in Schumann’s neglected violin concerto and the clandestine woodland rustle of Dvořák’s G major symphony.

****1

Teodor Currentzis and the SWR Symphony triumph in Mahler 9

Alexander Hall, 17th December

Say what you like, Teodor Currentzis understands the music of Mahler, especially in that composer's final symphonic statement, to the manner born.

*****

Norrington and the SWR in heroic vein

Alexander Hall, 16th March

An overture, a concerto and a symphony by the incomparable Beethoven delivered with heroic commitment by the SWR Symphony Orchestra, Sir Roger Norrington and Francesco Piemontesi.

****1

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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.

A study in suffering: Schnittke and Tchaikovsky from Currentzis at the Elbphilharmonie