Rather as he did for his controversial (and somewhat disappointing) account of Das Lied von Der Erde Adam Fischer offers a kind of apologia in the liner note as to the particular challenges of the Eighth Symphony…
It’s the symphony that might or might not have recalibrated Shostakovich’s future and it’s still one of the trickiest to pull off in performance. Noseda meets it halfway – which makes for plusses and minuses. His LSO…
One of these days a Mariss Jansons recording will arrive that will confound my expectations. This, alas, is not it. You can tell at once from the cultured, well-rounded, Bavarian sound that the very notion of something…
If you’re watching the calories, stop reading now. This evocative collection of Viennese sweetmeats, of wine, women, song and Sachertorte, does not countenance the notion of abstinence. Kaufmann’s love affair with Vienna – City of Dreams –…
What’s in a name? Plenty. The revival of the Sinfonia of London in such spectacular style with John Wilson’s glorious account of the Korngold Symphony is probably even more of a nostalgic occasion for me than it…
I need to say a few things about Jessye Norman – gone but never forgotten, her majestic voice for the ages forever enshrined for posterity in countless recordings, her aura somehow immortal. I saw her perform many…
Reflecting once again on yet another season of Henry Wood Promenade Concerts my thoughts turn to the venue itself – the Royal Albert Hall – loved and loathed in equal measure, the grandest of grand edifices, a…
“Woman the making of…’ Intriguing title. And it takes its cue from Jake Heggie’s very first commission – written in 1995 to original texts by Philip Littell – which was, to borrow a more iconic title, ‘all…
For two works so diametrically opposed in feeling, philosophy and belief, these marvellous pieces sit well together. They also appear to chime with Robin Ticciati’s very particular sensibilities as a conductor. And he plainly adores them. So…
The intriguingly named Sinfonia Grange Au Lac (literally The Barn on the Lake) bows in here under its first mentor and incumbent Esa-Pekka Salonen. A unique custom made orchestra for a custom made venue and festival –…
