The Tippett Quartet's Canadian debut redeems the time

By Stanley Fefferman, 02 April 2013

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Reviewed at Walter Hall, University of Toronto, Toronto on 28 March 2013

Tippett, String Quartet no. 5

Herrmann, Psycho Suite for Strings (for string quartet)

Beethoven, String Quartet no. 14 in C sharp minor, Op.131

Tippett Quartet

Nelson Goerner shines with the CBSO and Rachmaninov's Rhapsody

Robert Gainer, 9th April

The CBSO present the work of three European émigré composers of the 1930s and 40s, who reimagined their musical influences with contrasting approaches and results.

****1

Andris Nelsons and the BSO arrive in New York, with baggage in tow

Cameron Kelsall, 9th April

In his first New York appearance since the termination of his contract as BSO Music Director, Nelsons courts public sympathy and makes some thrilling music.

***11

Karabits and Szeps-Znaider carouse with the LPO

Christopher Woodley, 8th April

The sparkle of Max Bruch's Fecond Violin Concerto and the drama of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony overcome the gloom of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s dark forebodings.

****1

Savall conducts Beethoven and Haydn at the Elbphilharmonie

Mengguang Huang, 3rd April

Beethoven's Christus am Ölberge is paired with Haydn's Die sieben letzten Worte, a journey from agony to transcendence in which the agony proves the more honest companion.

***11

Portraits and pictures from Ibragimova, Gardner and the LPO

Roy Westbrook, 1st April

From Three Screaming Popes to Pictures at an Exhibition, a pair of works inspired by paintings frame a violin concerto by Béla Bartók at London's Southbank Centre.

****1

Evgeny Kissin leaves a trail of happy hearts at the Barbican

Christopher Woodley, 31st March

With a spring in his step, Evgeny Kissin returns to Barbican Hall and gives well-wrought accounts of Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and Schumann.

****1

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Stanley Fefferman

Stanley Fefferman is Professor Emeritus at York University, Toronto. He is active in classical, new music, and jazz circles as a writer and accredited performance photographer. His work is archived on Canadian sites The Live Music Report.com, Showtimemagazine.ca, and OpusOneReview.com. His website is here.