Spookiness in Stuttgart with Eschenbach and Kopatchinskaja

By Alexander Hall, 27 February 2021

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“exploring the borderline between life and what lay beyond, feeling the pain in every phrase”

Reviewed at Liederhalle: Beethoven-Saal, Stuttgart on 26 February 2021

Schumann, Violin Concerto in D minor

Dvořák, Symphony no. 8 in G major, Op.88

Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Violin

SWR Symphony Orchestra

Christoph Eschenbach, Conductor

In tempore belli: Britten's War Requiem at the Elbphilharmonie

Alexander Hall, 16th June

As Teodor Currentzis' time in charge of the SWR Symphony Orchestra draws to a close, he bids farewell in a series of nationwide performances of Britten's memorial to the pity of war.

****1

A kaleidoscope of kinetic colour from Currentzis, Avdeeva and the SWR

Alexander Hall, 15th September

Teodor Currentzis, conducting the SWR Symphony Orchestra, and Yulianna Avdeeva do Prokofiev proud in his Third Piano Concerto and Fifth Symphony: all the colours of the rainbow delivered with sophistication, élan and boundless effervescence.

*****

Alina Ibragimova and Nils Mönkemeyer in love with Mozart

Laurence Vittes, 8th May

The soloists turn out to be the perfect couple, while the camerawork covers the action like it was a soccer match.

*****

Teodor Currentzis and the SWR Symphony triumph in Mahler 9

Alexander Hall, 17th December

Say what you like, Teodor Currentzis understands the music of Mahler, especially in that composer's final symphonic statement, to the manner born.

*****

A study in suffering: Currentzis at the Elbphilharmonie

Alexander Hall, 19th December

Teodor Currentzis, on tour with the SWR Symphony Orchestra, pairs two Russian masterpieces written a century apart: Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony and Schnittke's Viola Concerto with Antoine Tamestit.

****1

Norrington and the SWR in heroic vein

Alexander Hall, 16th March

An overture, a concerto and a symphony by the incomparable Beethoven delivered with heroic commitment by the SWR Symphony Orchestra, Sir Roger Norrington and Francesco Piemontesi.

****1

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Alexander Hall

Alexander Hall divides his time between London and Hamburg, where he had a career in academic administration and teaching. He reviews for Bachtrack and Opera Today, and has also reviewed for Classical Source. A connoisseur of the great orchestras of the world, his musical memories stretch back to Karajan/Berlin Phil, Mravinsky/Leningrad Phil, Bernstein/Vienna Phil, and he has seen most of the great conductors from the past, including Böhm, Klemperer, Kubelik, Ormandy and Szell.

Spookiness in Stuttgart with the SWR Symphony, Eschenbach and Kopatchinskaja