A Festival of New Music closes with an Empty Space

By Roy Westbrook, 13 July 2020

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“wraiths brought together for a ghostly gig in Berlin”

Reviewed at Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlin on 12 July 2020

Boulez, Dérive 1

Rivet, Terre d'ombres, for solo flute (World premiere)

Widmann, Empty space, for five players (World premiere)

Daniel Barenboim, Conductor, Piano

Emmanuel Pahud, Flute

Jörg Widmann, Clarinet

Tibor Reman, Clarinet

Michael Barenboim, Violin

Astrig Siranossian, Cello

Giuseppe Mentuccia, Conductor

Dominic Oelze, Percussion

Joy and hope from Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

Chris Garlick, 4th November

The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra are on fire with the joy of music-making to the delight of a very sympathetic and enthusiastic audience at London's Southbank Centre.

*****

Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan return to the BBC Proms

Asher Rubenstein, 11th August

Marking 25 years of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim returns to the Proms with violin legend Anne-Sophie Mutter.

***11

Clumsy Liszt, listless Berlioz from Barenboim and the Staatskapelle

Mark Pullinger, 7th March

Some conductors get better with age, ripening like fine wines, but age wearies others. Daniel Barenboim’s decline is difficult to bear.

Don Giovanni laughs off his own death at Staatsoper Berlin

Zenaida des Aubris, 10th April

Finishing up their Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy with Don Giovanni, Daniel Barenboim and Vincent Huguet rely on mild punchlines and dignified tempi

***11

West-Eastern Divan Orchestra shows its stars at the Salzburg Festival

Alexander Hall, 13th August

Daniel Barenboim offered an unusually Germanic take on César Franck, while section leaders Michael Barenboim and Kian Soltani pulled double duty as soloists in Brahms' Double Concerto.

****1

Daniel Barenboim steps in to conduct Brahms at Berlin Philharmonie

Edward Sava-Segal, 24th April

Replacing Mikko Franck at short notice, Barenboim joins Yefim Bronfman for a revised, all-Brahms programme.

****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.

Empty Space in a Land of Shadows: close of A Festival of New Music at the Pierre Boulez Saal