Exploring extremes: a rich, rewarding programme in Berlin

By Hugo Shirley, 26 January 2019

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“Thorsvaldsdottir’s command of a large orchestra is hugely impressive”

Reviewed at Philharmonie: Großer Saal, Berlin on 24 January 2019

Thorvaldsdottir, Metacosmos

Prokofiev, Violin Concerto no. 2 in G minor, Op.63

Strauss R., Sinfonia domestica, Op.53

Lisa Batiashvili, Violin

Berliner Philharmoniker

Alan Gilbert, Conductor

Kirill Petrenko and the Berliner Philharmoniker in Seoul

SangKwon Lee, 9th November

On their Asian tour, the Berliner Philharmoniker reaffirms its renown in a concert of Schumann and Brahms at the Seoul Arts Center.

*****

Pitch perfect: Petrenko conducts Dusapin, Zimmermann and Brahms

Elena Luporini, 17th September

At this year's Musikfest Berlin, Kirill Petrenko conducts his Berliner Philharmoniker in a devilishly intricate programme.

****1

A place to call our own: Marin Alsop in Berlin

Elena Luporini, 22nd February

For her debut at the head of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Marin Alsop reflects on what a ‘home’ is through works by Tarkiainen, Dean, Copland and Villa-Lobos.

****1

Robertson conducts the German premiere of Srnka's Superorganisms

Elena Luporini, 13th February

At the Philharmonie, David Robertson steps in for Kirill Petrenko for a concert all about the wonders of nature, featuring Varèse, Srnka and Beethoven.

****1

Berlin Phil à la hongroise with Seong-Jin Cho

Elena Luporini, 9th December

The Berlin Phil celebrates Seong-Jin Cho's recently inaugurated residency with a Hungarian-themed chamber concert.

****1

Passion and precision from the Berlin Phil at Carnegie Hall

Cameron Kelsall, 17th November

Under the leadership of Chief Conductor Kirill Petrenko, the Berliners produced a deep, muscular and forward sound that invigorated familiar music.

****1

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Hugo Shirley

Hugo Shirley is a Berlin-based writer and musicologist. He has written widely as a critic in the UK, including for The Spectator, the Financial Times and Daily Telegraph, and has held editorial posts at both Opera and Gramophone. He was editor of 30-Second Opera (Ivy Press, 2015) and has a PhD in musicology from King's College London, where his thesis focused on Strauss and Hofmannsthal’s Die Frau ohne Schatten.

Exploring extremes: a rich, rewarding programme from Alan Gilbert and the Berliner Philharmoniker