Monthly Archives: August 2016

Prom 59: Vintage wine: Blomstedt and the Leipzig Gewandhaus in splendid Beethoven

Beethoven: Leipzig Gewandhaus/Blomstedt **** Royal Albert Hall, 29th August 2016 To paraphrase Frank Sinatra, if 1927 was A Very Good Year, then July 1927 must have been an exceptionally good month. It saw the births of conductors Kurt Masur, Michael … Continue reading

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A cruel lesson: Christophe Honoré’s Così fan tutte from Aix

Mozart: Così fan tutte  Is Così fan tutte an opera that’s ever suitable for children? Mozart and Da Ponte serve up the most cynical lesson in love. Perhaps that’s why it appeals to me. Don Alfonso sets out to prove … Continue reading

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Prom 55: Fate knocks, Ophelia sings, Mirga triumphs

CBSO/Gražinyte-Tyla **** Royal Albert Hall, 27th August 2016 A pair of auspicious debuts marked the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s Prom: Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla was making her London debut, just a day after her first concert as its new music director; … Continue reading

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The peasants are revolting! Lalo and Coquard’s La Jacquerie revived by Palazzetto Bru Zane

Lalo/Coquard: La Jacquerie  Radio France/Palazzetto Bru Zane (ES 1023) Édouard Lalo wasn’t averse to a bit of recycling. He raided his 1868 opera Fiesque for both his Symphony in G minor and his most famous opera, Le Roi d’Ys. He … Continue reading

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Prom 50: Angels and Demons as Vedernikov leads a gripping Prokofiev Third

Prom 50: BBCSO/Vedernikov *** Royal Albert Hall, 23rd August 2016 A belated touch of demonic fire was a welcome ingredient to last night’s Prom. Prokofiev’s Third Symphony, based on themes from his opera The Fiery Angel, received a reading which, … Continue reading

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