Gardner and the LPO balance the new and the familiar in season opener

By Edward Sava-Segal, 01 October 2020

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“as if the composer is able to transform the conductor’s instrument into a magician’s wand”

Reviewed at Royal Festival Hall, London on 30 September 2020

Widmann, Con Brio, concert overture for orchestra

Sibelius, In the stream of life (orch. Rautavaara)

Beethoven, Symphony no. 5 in C minor, Op.67

Gerald Finley, Baritone

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Edward Gardner, Conductor

Paavo Järvi marks his new LPO appointment in Tchaikovsky and Sibelius

Mark Valencia, 4th March

Paavo Järvi demonstrates just why the London Philharmonic Orchestra has chosen him as its next Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor.

*****

Canellakis, Mutter and the LPO at the Elbphilharmonie

Mengguang Huang, 24th February

Anne-Sophie Mutter’s commanding presence meet the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s exceptional adaptability, yielding a concert that balances tradition-steeped authority with modern transparency, rhythmic vitality and the orchestra’s own electrifying spontaneity.

****1

Phoenix Lands: the London Philharmonic blazes with energy

Charlotte Gardner, 4th February

Edward Gardner’s Bacewicz, Martinů, Lutosławski and Janáček set the Royal Festival Hall ablaze.

****1

Jurowski and the LPO’s Mahler cycle reaches a momentous climax

Peter Quantrill, 24th January

Retrospection held at bay by the conductor’s unusual choice of Rudolf Barshai's completion to Mahler’s last symphony.

****1

Explosive performances from Vladimir Jurowski and the LPO

Chris Garlick, 21st January

Jurowski took a full-on approach in the first movement, grinding through the discords without shame and only pulling back in those rare moments in the score where everyone is catching their breath.

****1

Beth Taylor’s commanding Sea Pictures with the London Philharmonic

Nick Boston, 26th November

The dream team of Edward Gardner and the LPO are joined by Beth Taylor for a glorious evening of Elgar at the Royal Festival Hall.

*****

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Edward Sava-Segal

Edward has been living in New York for the last 25 years, one of the reasons being the extraordinarily rich cultural life in this city. He has studied piano and classical music in his early years. He switched later on to computer science and data architecture but he kept an unwavering interest in following the classical music phenomenon here in New York and in his travels. Edward occasionally reviews fine arts events for the most prestigious literary magazine in Romania, his home country.