Classical music
Lise Davidsen, Leif Ove Andsnes, Barbican review - perfect Grieg, impressive Strauss and WagnerFriday, 14 January 2022
After a too-much-too-soon debut disc, Lisa Davidsen has just rolled out the gold on CD with her great fellow Norwegian Leif Ove Andsnes in songs by their compatriot Grieg. The visuals last night, in the first concert of a Barbican mini-residency,... Read more... |
Best of 2021: Classical music concertsMonday, 27 December 2021
As the catastrophe unfolded in 2020, it seemed reasonable to speculate that the biggest orchestral works – Mahler and Shostakovich symphonies, Strauss tone poems among them – probably wouldn’t be heard live in our concert halls for years.Yet see how... Read more... |
Voces8 Live from London Christmas online review – seasonal favourites and new discoveriesSunday, 26 December 2021
The Voces8 online festivals – which were born of a need to keep the show on the road during at the beginning of the pandemic – have rapidly become a fixture of the musical landscape, setting the bar for online presentation of choral music and... Read more... |
Best of 2021: Classical CDsFriday, 24 December 2021
There’s still so much good music being recorded and released; classical CD shops may be thin on the ground but the CDs themselves are still very much available. I’ll stream or download if forced to, but the appearance and feel of the physical... Read more... |
First Person: young composer Nicola Perikhanyan on a new immersive reality experience at London WallWednesday, 22 December 2021
There's something really moving about standing in the centre of London Wall's Roman ruins and looking up at the city that has grown around it. Thinking about our past, present and future simultaneously. More than 2000 years have passed since the... Read more... |
Solomon's Knot, Wigmore Hall review - festive music for uncertain timesTuesday, 21 December 2021
It had been a tense week, explained Jonathan Sells, the artistic director and bass-baritone of Solomon’s Knot, from the stage of the Wigmore Hall: unsure if the concert would go ahead, unsure who exactly would be able to perform, unsure if there... Read more... |
Messiah, Dunedin Consort, Butt, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh - period clarity infused with loveMonday, 20 December 2021
This time last year, the moment I knew things were really bad was when the Dunedin Consort cancelled Messiah. All performances since the summer of 2020 had been online films, but Dunedin cancelled even their online Messiah because it would involve... Read more... |
Classical CDs: Christmas 2021, Part 2Sunday, 19 December 2021
Charpentier: Un Oratorio De Noël Les Arts Florissants/William Christie (Harmonia Mundi)Just four minutes should be enough to convince anyone of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s genius. Try the central movement, “La Nuit” from Un Oratorio De Noël,... Read more... |
The Sixteen, Christophers, Cadogan Hall review - polished and impeccable but slightly sedateThursday, 16 December 2021
The Sixteen are one of the jewels of the choral world. For over 40 years they have led the way in singing excellence and programming that brings together old and new. This Christmas concert combined some traditional favourites with Renaissance and... Read more... |
L’Enfance du Christ, Monteverdi Choir, ORR, Gardiner, St Martin-in-the-Fields review – clear-cut Christmas storyMonday, 13 December 2021
Time, place and performers gave this performance of Berlioz’s typically original “Sacred Trilogy” a special significance. Nothing in it is more striking, in choice of text and the music to illustrate it, than the scene where Hebrew refugees Mary,... Read more... |
Classical CDs: Christmas 2021, Part 1Saturday, 11 December 2021
Michael Praetorius: Es is ein Ros Dresdner Kammerchor/Hans-Christoph Rademann (Accentus)Oliver Geisler’s witty booklet note makes the case for Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) as “one of the best unknowns in the history of music.” Reading the... Read more... |
Semenchuk, Skigin, Wigmore Hall review - compelling Tchaikovsky songsTuesday, 07 December 2021
This winter's evening spent at Wigmore Hall, completely immersed in performances of songs by Tchaikovsky, was a delight.Mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk and pianist Semyon Skigin know these songs profoundly well. They described the proposal thus: “... Read more... |
