Royal Albert Hall
Prom 34: Argerich, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Barenboim review - erratic star, sleek ensembleTuesday, 13 August 2019
Perhaps those who came for the Argerich touch and left at the interval of this instant-sellout Prom were satisfied. After all, the legendary Argentinian pianist gave us some vintage minutes of her silk-spinning mercurialism. Yet it was in the midst... Read more... |
Prom 30: The Warner Brothers Story, John Wilson Orchestra review – orchestral richesSaturday, 10 August 2019
Wisecracks can be profound. The late André Previn – who spent most of the period from his late teens to his mid-thirties working in film studios – once responded to a critic’s snub that the music of Korngold all sounded like Hollywood with the line... Read more... |
Prom 28: BBCNOW, Otaka review - fantastical choral expeditionFriday, 09 August 2019
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales’ second consecutive night at the Proms, accompanied by their associated National Chorus, ventured further out of the classical mainstream than the first. Where Wednesday night had seen a solid Germanic programme... Read more... |
Prom 26: BBCNOW, Stutzmann review – a banquet of fervent favouritesThursday, 08 August 2019
Not every Prom has to push musical boundaries or bust concert conventions. On the face of it, last night’s programme from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (and National Chorus of Wales) stuck to a thoroughly traditional recipe. Two familiar 19th-... Read more... |
Prom 25: Gabetta, BBCSO, Stasevska review – stunning Weinberg debutWednesday, 07 August 2019
This concert from the BBC Symphony Orchestra marked the first performance of composer Mieczysław Weinberg at the Proms, an important milestone in the recent surge of interest of his music. When Weinberg, a Russian composer of Jewish descent and... Read more... |
Prom 23: Floristán, BBC Philharmonic, Gernon review - concerto lacks heftTuesday, 06 August 2019
Ben Gernon is only 30 (and looks about ten years younger) but has been Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic since 2017. He really impressed in last night’s Prom but, after an exciting overture, things fell away a bit with an under-... Read more... |
Prom 20: Kuusisto, BBCSSO, Dausgaard review – Sibelius between folk and artMonday, 05 August 2019
I’m not quite sure that I should review this Prom, since I performed in it. Before anyone summons the white coats, let me clarify. As the encore to a mind-expanding evening, Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto returned to the stage with his band of... Read more... |
Prom 17: Shaham, Bavarian RSO, Nézet-Séguin review – a Montrealer brings “l’fun”Thursday, 01 August 2019
Montrealers exude a particular kind of happiness and have wonderfully snappy expressions to convey it: “Chu correc”, means ‘I’m fine’, and “C’est l’fun” means...exactly what it looks like. Yannick Nézet-Séguin is a distinctly proud Montrealer (“It’s... Read more... |
Prom 15: Bavarian RSO, Nézet-Séguin review - perfect Beethoven, nuanced ShostakovichWednesday, 31 July 2019
While we wish the great Mariss Jansons a speedy recovery, no-one of sound heart and soul could be disappointed by his substitute for the two Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Proms, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, whose supreme art is to show the score's... Read more... |
Prom 14: The Creation, BBC Proms Youth Choir, BBC Philharmonic, Wellber - Haydn on the edgeTuesday, 30 July 2019
Hello sun, hello great whales, hello choral counterpoint. If there is a more life-enhancing work than Joseph Haydn’s oratorio The Creation, I’ve yet to hear one. Its sheer joie-de-vivre was a felicitous arrival at the Proms, where it really... Read more... |
Prom 13: Des canyons aux étoiles..., BBCSO, Oramo review – cursory contemplations of earth and skyMonday, 29 July 2019
Messiaen’s language of juxtaposition over development was always susceptible to the “greatest hits” phenomenon that began to suffuse his music with contented wonder during the 1970s. While younger colleagues were throwing toys out of the pram and... Read more... |
Prom 12: Benedetti, National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Wigglesworth - adrenalin highs and string sound to die forSunday, 28 July 2019
In the Netherlands, Mark Wigglesworth is already a musical legend for his work with Dutch youth orchestras. Hopefully, in addition to the year and a bit when he wrought miracles at English National Opera, he will become so in the UK after his... Read more... |
