Västerås Sinfonietta unleashes nature and embraces joy at Kings Place

By Mark Pullinger, 20 February 2020

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“the Andante felt like an intimate, fireside conversation between two best friends”

Reviewed at Kings Place: Hall One, London on 19 February 2020

Mendelssohn, The Hebrides Overture, “Fingal's Cave”, Op.26

Tarrodi, Zephyros

Ligeti, Concert Românesc

Dvořák, Silent Woods for cello and orchestra B. 182

Brahms, Double Concerto in A minor for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, Op.102

Sibelius, Vattendroppar (Raindrops) for violin and cello, JS216

Mozart, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), K620: Overture

Lawrence Power, Violin

Paul Watkins, Cello

Simon Crawford-Phillips, Conductor

Västerås Sinfonietta

Kuusisto and Crawford-Phillips bring New Dimensions to SCO

David Smythe, 14th March

Pekka Kuusisto and Simon Crawford-Phillips lead the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in a musical arc featuring works by Britten, Adès, Andres, Beamish and Haydn.

****1

A double act: Roderick Williams delivers Mahler two ways

Alexander Hall, 19th November

Robert and Clara were not the only two-composer family. So were Alma and Gustav. The Nash Ensemble's latest programme highlights Beethoven and the Romantics.

***11

Quality performances by the Nash Ensemble at Wigmore Hall

Chris Garlick, 3rd October

Two contrasting works from the Nash Ensemble made for a fine evening of the very best quality chamber music at Wigmore Hall, gratefully received in the hall and by many online.

****1

The Hallé and Edward Gardner: Beethoven 8

Rohan Shotton, 1st March

By far the smallest audience yet for the Hallé’s Beethoven Symphonies cycle gathered for this eighth instalment, conducted by Edward Gardner, and the absentees missed an evening of supreme charm and playfulness.Luciano Berio’s Rendering is a ‘restoration’ (not a completion, as the composer was very clear), of sketches for Schubert’s Tenth Symphony.

****1

Jakob Koranyi: Cello Sonatas at the Concertgebouw

Renée Reitsma, 1st February

The Small Hall of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam has had some very exciting chamber music programs this season. Tonight’s concert involved one of the most promising young cellists on the scene, Jakob Koranyi, and pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips. They played a diverse program featuring solo cello pieces by Ligeti and Esa-Pekka Salonen, and cello sonatas by Brahms and Shostakovich.

Reine de l’octuor, Malin Broman retrouve son public à Berwaldhallen

Tristan Labouret, 10th September

Elle s'était distinguée pendant le premier confinement en interprétant à elle seule l'Octuor de Mendelssohn : la violoniste suédoise Malin Broman retrouve son public et des partenaires pour un concert réjouissant.

****1

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.