Magic and solemnity: Uchida and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra

Dame Mitsuko Uchida

Dame Mitsuko Uchida and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra performs Widmann

By Susan Stempleski, 30 March 2024

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“Uchida executed the piano’s sparkling phrases with great delicacy and charm”

Reviewed at Carnegie Hall: Stern Auditorium, New York City on 28 March 2024

Mozart, Piano Concerto no. 17 in G major, K453

Widmann, String Quartet no. 2, “Chorale Quartet” (arr. for orchestra)

Mozart, Piano Concerto no. 22 in E flat major, K482

Bach, French Suite no. 5 in G major, BWV816: Sarabande

Mahler Chamber Orchestra

Dame Mitsuko Uchida, Piano

Delicacy at the cost of spark: Mitsuko Uchida with the Mahler CO

Mengguang Huang, 26th January

While Uchida’s performances showcase remarkable precision and refinement, they occasionally feel restrained, leaving room to explore the improvisatory charm that make Mozart’s music so compelling.

***11

Lessons in grief: Picture a day like this triumphs in Aix

David Karlin, 5th July

Sir George Benjamin and Martin Crimp’s fourth opera shares the best qualities of their previous work but is an inspiring, breathtaking fable.

*****

At the Concertgebouw, it's all about Lang Lang

Clare Varney, 1st June

No ordinary evening at the Concertgebouw, where Lang Lang’s partnership with Andris Nelsons is the perfect vehicle to examine the complexities and contrasts found in the music of Beethoven.

****1

The First and Second Viennese Schools in one: Uchida and the Mahler CO

Alexander Hall, 1st February

Dame Mitsuko Uchida demonstrates why she is one of today's greatest Mozartians, while her MCO players give a virtuoso account of a work steeped in the Viennese tradition.

****1

Shadows and spectres: Mahler Chamber Orchestra at the Elbphilharmonie

Alexander Hall, 9th November

A cabinet of curiosities: Christoph Koncz has an unconventional take on two Viennese symphonies, yet contributes well to an exemplary performance of Britten's most famous song cycle.

***11

Magical Mozart from Uchida and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra

Roy Westbrook, 5th February

If Purcell’s genius was muted, it was not missing in the Mahler Chamber Orchestra's appearance at London's Southbank.

****1

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Susan Stempleski

Based in New York City, Susan is a retired specialist in second and foreign language teaching and the author/editor of several professional books for language teachers and many widely used textbooks for English language learners around the world. An avid concertgoer, she spends her time attending operas and other classical music events in New York and Paris. Since 2002, she has regularly published reviews on Classical Source. A keen Francophile, she has a particularly strong interest in French music, literature and film.

Magic and solemnity: Mitsuko Uchida and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall