Viotti brings Italianate sunshine to Russian repertoire in Milan

By Mark Pullinger, 25 February 2022

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“the Milanese strings brightened their tone for a reading soaked in sunshine”

Reviewed at Teatro alla Scala, Milan on 24 February 2022

Tchaikovsky, Serenade for strings in C major, Op.48

Rachmaninov, Symphony no. 2 in E minor, Op.27

Filarmonica della Scala

Lorenzo Viotti, Conductor

A high-energy season opener at Dvořák’s Prague

Frank Kuznik, 7th September

Andrés Orozco-Estrada and the Filarmonica della Scalla boldly go into the Romantic repertoire, with mixed results.

****1

Grafenegg Festival ends with bittersweet Strauss from Renée Fleming

Laurence Vittes, 5th September

The soprano is lifted to lyrical heights by the Filarmonia della Scala and Andrés Orozco-Estrada at the open air Wolkenturm on the final night of the festival.

*****

Magnificent Beethoven tribute from Chailly in Antwerp

Marc Haegeman, 23rd January

"Beethoven 250" starts in grand form with thrilling performances of Egmont and Symphonies 5 and 8 in Antwerp.

*****

Lightweight Beethoven from Chailly and the Filarmonica della Scala

James Imam, 4th November

This lightweight, combustive account lacked bluster, sourcing tension from its forward momentum.

****1

Gardner and Levit invigorate the Filarmonica della Scala

James Imam, 11th March

Edward Gardner clearly has a thing for the Czechs. A month after he made his Royal Opera main-stage debut with Janáček's Katya Kabanova, here he was with the Filarmonica della Scala to conduct a strongly Czech programme.

****1

Lorenzo Viotti debuts with the Filarmonica della Scala

James Imam, 31st October

Viotti will return to La Scala to conduct Gounod's Roméo et Juliette in 2020. The programme this time round gave an indication of some of the positive qualities to expect. It also warned of some potential pitfalls.

****1

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.