Wigmore Hall
Schubert Recital 2, Christian Gerhaher, Gerold Huber, Wigmore HallFriday, 23 September 2011
Some great singers know how to modulate their beautiful instruments for long vocal life; others push technique and expression to the limits in countless concerts of a lifetime before burnout. Baritone Christian Gerhaher, it seems, belongs to the... Read more... |
Christian Gerhaher, Gerold Huber, Wigmore HallWednesday, 21 September 2011
The queues weren't quite Proms-sized but they were long enough for the little old Wigmore Hall to seem more than a little overwhelmed. Expectations were immense. The past year has seen baritone Christian Gerhaher cast a singular spell over London... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Soprano Susan BullockSunday, 04 September 2011
It may have taken her until 2005 to get her Wigmore Hall debut, until 2006 to break onto the stage of the Royal Opera House, but at 53 Susan Bullock has finally arrived, claiming the crown of soloist for this year’s Last Night of the Proms, a firm... Read more... |
Elisabeth Leonskaja, Wigmore HallMonday, 27 June 2011
Profound experience of 2010? For me, unquestionably, portions of the great Russian pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja's first-time journey through all the Schubert sonatas at the Verbier Festival. I was lucky to catch three out of nine recitals, and to... Read more... |
Joanna MacGregor, Wigmore Hall/ Sol Picó, Sadler's Wells TheatreSunday, 26 June 2011
The two-course evening out is made possible by the Wigmore Hall’s late Friday-night concerts, so if you get out of a central-London show - or dinner - by, say, 9.30, you can add a second layer of entertainment at 10. In my case, a ferociously poor... Read more... |
110th Anniversary Gala 2, Wigmore HallWednesday, 01 June 2011
Ghosts legendary and personal dog the nostalgic footsteps of Elgar's utterly characteristic late Piano Quintet - though who knew the old man had as much red blood in him as last night's world-class team managed to squeeze out? And circumstantial... Read more... |
James Bowman, Mahan Esfahani, Wigmore HallSaturday, 21 May 2011
The Wigmore Hall was full to capacity last night, its crowd gathered to pay homage to a great musician at the end of his career, and to discover the talents of a great musician at the very beginning of his. While Alfred Deller might have been the... Read more... |
Alexander Melnikov, Wigmore HallTuesday, 26 April 2011
How important is it to hear “the composer’s intentions” at a concert? Maybe only the interpreter’s intentions are possible. The young Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov challenges the golden rule of faithfulness to source with the resources of today... Read more... |
Paul Lewis, Wigmore HallWednesday, 23 March 2011
Paul Lewis doesn't smile much. He came to the keyboard last night with his face tuned to his usual blank-to-grim setting for the first recital in his Schubert cycle at the Wigmore Hall: a serious man with serious business. If only I could take his... Read more... |
Retrospect Trio, Julia Doyle, Wigmore HallTuesday, 15 February 2011
Their record label describes them rather laboriously as “a Baroque super-group of four superstar Baroque instrumentalists”, but the Retrospect Trio don’t need any fancy titles to prove their quality. Bringing together violinists Sophie Gent and... Read more... |
Zehetmair Quartet, Wigmore HallMonday, 14 February 2011
This is the second Sunday in a month that I've sat in the Wigmore Hall and been plunged into an evening of ferocious concentration from the very first bars. Mid-January saw violinist Leonidas Kavakos and his phenomenal pianist Enrico Pace carving... Read more... |
Arditti Quartet, Wigmore HallThursday, 03 February 2011
Being a composer of contemporary classical music is a treacherous business. It's about the only art form in which stylistic choices can still force a creator into permanent exile. Two composers who have fallen foul of the British house style in... Read more... |
