Prom 31: Hallé, Coote, Elder, Royal Albert Hall
The levels of refinement now exhibited by the Hallé, the stylishness and elegance of the playing, is alone a measure of the special relationship that they and Mark Elder have cemented over the last decade and a…
Benvenuto Cellini, London Coliseum
Hector Berlioz and Terry Gilliam were undoubtedly made for each other – kindred spirits with wild imaginations, impractical demands, and a touch of anarchy. But Berlioz was a chaotic dramatist at best and in a piece like…
London Philharmonic, Petrenko, Royal Festival Hall (Review)
Vasily Petrenko used his baton like a piratical rapier to galvanise the London Philharmonic violins in their flourishes of derring-do at the start of Berlioz’ Overture Le Corsaire. And the brilliance was in the quicksilver contrasts, the…
Prom 33: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Uchida, Jansons, Royal Albert Hall (Review)
Precious few musicians can instill such a sense of intimacy into their playing as to have us believing that the Royal Albert Hall is Wigmore Hall and that their performance is for an audience of one and…
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Elder, Royal Festival Hall
Such is Berlioz’ persuasive theatricality that even when he is rearranging Shakespeare one is inclined to ask not what the Bard is doing for him but rather what he is doing for the Bard. His unprecedented Symphonie…
Britten Sinfonia & Voices, Elder, Queen Elizabeth Hall
The onstage mingling of orchestra, soloists, and conductor prior to this seasonal performance of Berlioz’ L’enfance du Christ was presumably designed to lend a more intimate, informal tone to the start of the evening so that the…
London Symphony Orchestra, Douglas, Roth, Barbican Hall
Programming Liszt is like counting calories: you can blow your entire month’s intake in less than an hour. Whoever thought of pairing the Symphonic Poem Mazeppa with the 2nd Piano Concerto – presumably the conductor Francois-Xavier Roth…