A tale of two halves as Jess Gillam makes her Hallé debut

By Hugh Morris, 17 January 2020

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

Reviewed at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester on 16 January 2020

Adams, Saxophone Concerto

Ellington, In a Sentimental Mood

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

The Hallé

Kazuki Yamada, Conductor

Jess Gillam, Saxophone

Tarmo Peltokoski conducts the Hallé in Mahler and Vaughan Williams

Leighton Jones, 16th April

Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder provide an apt, if somewhat unexpected, partner to Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony in Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall.

****1

Concertos – for violin and for orchestra – from the Hallé

Peter Connors, 22nd March

Viktoria Mullova is a superb soloist in Brahms' Violin Concerto, while an orchestra full of soloists play Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra with Kahchun Wong presiding.

*****

Nico Muhly’s vision of the end of the world comes to Sheffield

Phil Parker, 15th March

Doom – both personal and cosmic – and its aftermath are the focus of Alpesh Chauhan’s Hallé concert at Sheffield’s City Hall.

****1

Avant-garde echoes meet minimalist soundscapes in Hallé concert

Pwyll ap Sion, 26th February

Jonny Greenwood’s genre-defying music is given a powerful performance by violinist Daniel Pioro and members of The Hallé Orchestra under Hugh Tieppo-Brunt.

****1

Celestial journeys with Kahchun Wong and the Hallé

Rohan Shotton, 19th February

Kahchun Wong returns to The Hallé for Holst and Unsuk Chin, with a postscript from Colin Matthews

***11

The Hallé brings Salonen, Grieg and Sibelius to Sheffield

Phil Parker, 23rd January

Dazzling young German pianist Julius Asal and stand-in conductor Duncan Ward breathe new life into the familiar in repertoire by Grieg and Sibelius.

****1

More reviews...

Hugh Morris

Hugh is a freelance writer and composer based in Manchester. He contributes to a range of publications in the UK and US, including GRAMMY, Jazzwise, Reverb, The Sampler, The Calvert Journal and The Big Issue across music, politics and society. He also works for London-based jazz label Whirlwind Recordings, and for Manchester music charity Olympias Music Foundation.