Full-fat festivity: the BSO's Baroque Christmas

By Roy Westbrook, 17 December 2020

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“she gave us the chattering teeth of a loose denture-wearer on a rickety train line”

Reviewed at Lighthouse, Poole on 16 December 2020

Corelli, Concerto grosso in G minor "Christmas Concerto", Op.6 no.8

Handel, Arias from Messiah

Vivaldi, Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione: Violin Concerto in F major, Op.8 no. 3, RV 293 "L'autunno” (Autumn)

Vivaldi, Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione: Violin Concerto in F minor, Op.8 no. 4, RV 297 "L'inverno" (Winter)

Bach, Orchestral Suite no. 1 in C major, BWV1066

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Robert Howarth, Conductor

Alina Ibragimova, Violin

Anna Devin, Soprano

Catherine Bott, Presenter

Ning Feng’s Korngold is not quite a “Hollywood hit” in Poole

David Truslove, 26th November

Sian Edwards takes the helm of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in Britten, Korngold and Dvořák, with mixed results.

***11

A Prom of two halves: Mark Wigglesworth and the Bournemouth SO

Leighton Jones, 20th July

The BSO play a trio of 20th-century greats — Ravel and Shostakovich both taking inspiration from the age of jazz, while Walton’s First Symphony provides contrast.

***11

Die Fledermaus at The Grange: Cabaret meets G&S

David Karlin, 20th June

A fine singing cast gives creditable performances in Johann Stauss II's most famous operetta, but Paul Curran's updating of Act 2 to 1930s Berlin takes the fizz out of the Champagne.

***11

Alena Baeva delivers transcendent Berg at The Anvil

David Truslove, 25th January

Polished playing and inspirational performances in Basingstoke that underline the exciting relationship between Mark Wigglesworth and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

*****

The Rake's Progress at The Grange: richly entertaining

David Karlin, 23rd June

Singing performances are excellent, the staging is well crafted and Stravinsky's eclectic score entertains from start to finish. But it's an evening's opera that doesn't touch the soul.

****1

Voices from the East: a musical marathon with a gripping finish

Peter Quantrill, 19th May

Kirill Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra present a day of composers from the former Soviet republics with heroic skill and stamina.

****1

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Roy Westbrook

Roy Westbrook gained a diploma in music history at London University (Morley College) and was for some years the head of music day schools at Oxford University, where he also led music summer schools. After some years leading the University's business school he has returned to music teaching and writing, and recently took part in the Arts in Residence courses on Bruckner, Mahler and Bach He is co-author (with Terry Barfoot) of a history of opera, and has taught day schools on Sibelius in Oxford and elsewhere.

Full-fat festivity: the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's Baroque Christmas