Polished Arensky, dazzling Weber and joyful Haydn in Liverpool

By Peter Connors, 26 November 2020

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“Bliss led proceedings with stunning virtuosity and a beautiful sound”

Reviewed at Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool on 25 November 2020

Arensky, Variations on a theme by Tchaikovsky, Op.35a

Weber, Clarinet Concerto no. 2 in E flat major, Op.74

Haydn, Symphony no. 94 in G major "Surprise"

Julian Bliss, Clarinet

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Vasily Petrenko, Conductor

Dazzling Prokofiev from Alim Beisembayev and the RLPO

Peter Connors, 26th April

In an all-Russian programme in Liverpool, Alim Beisembayev gives a breathtaking performance of Prokofiev's fiendishly difficult Second Piano Concerto.

****1

Dependable Mozart and Mendelssohn from the RLPO

Glyn Mon Hughes, 16th April

Aurel Dawidziuk and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra explore darkness and light, although the drama does not always bringing the audience to the edge of its collective seat.

***11

Paul Lewis balances delicacy with power in understated RLPO Beethoven

Glyn Mon Hughes, 12th March

Understatement is key in Paul Lewis' interpretation of Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under Adam Hickox.

***11

Domingo Hindoyan's warm Bruckner 6 beguiles Liverpool

Peter Connors, 5th February

Schubert and Saint-Saëns provide an elegant first half before a change of tone and pace with Bruckner's Sixth Symphony.

****1

Sidorova mesmerises Liverpool with Tabakova’s Accordion Concerto

Glyn Mon Hughes, 22nd January

An unusual evening of orchestral virtuosity and an ear-opening adventure with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Andris Poga.

****1

Lozakovich, Foster and the RLPO: glorious Bruch and Tchaikovsky

Peter Connors, 4th December

Daniel Lozakovich captivated the audience in Liverpool with his Bruch; Lawrence Foster conducted the RLPO in superb performances of less familiar Liszt and Tchaikovsky.

*****

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Peter Connors

Peter has been attending concerts and operas enthusiastically since his parents took him to see The Mikado in Liverpool when he was a boy of ten and to a “family concert” given by the RLPO a year or so later. Peter studied Modern Languages at Worcester College, Oxford and Law in Manchester. After spending twenty years as a pensions lawyer in Manchester, he retrained as a teacher of English as a foreign language, which took him to Germany and to Serbia. With the onset of the pandemic he returned to the UK and now works online and frequents concert halls and theatres in the North West of England.