Monthly Archives: November 2017

Autumnal bacchanale as Marx’s Herbstsymphonie is given UK première by Jurowski and the LPO

Marx: LPO/Jurowski ***** 29th November 2017 The London Philharmonic Orchestra’s inventive programming has been heavily seasoned over the past week: Bridge’s Summer and Tchaikovsky’s Winter Daydreams on Wednesday; Kabalevsky’s Spring on Friday, along with traversals of all four seasons by Vivaldi and Glazunov. Tonight, it was … Continue reading

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Infernal Liszt: Alice Sara Ott, Antonio Pappano and a Faustian pact

Liszt: LSO/ Pappano **** Barbican, 26th November 2017 In all honesty, Goethe could have been referring to Liszt’s Faust Symphony which – at around seventy minutes – can feel like a very long work of art indeed. It formed the bloated climax … Continue reading

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Snow boots on for an exuberant Tchaikovsky 1 from Michail Jurowski and the LPO

Tchaikovsky: LPO/Michail Jurowski **** Royal Festival Hall, 22nd November 2017 With Christmas market stalls already doing a roaring trade along the Thames next to the Southbank Centre, summer seems but a distant memory. However, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, playing under the … Continue reading

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Debussy Perspectives: Philippe Cassard dons his dancing shoes at Wigmore Hall

Debussy: Philippe Cassard **** Wigmore Hall, 21st November 2017 Waltzing on a Monday evening? Wigmore Hall is not exactly the Tower Ballroom, but last night it did a fair impression as a temple of dance when Philippe Cassard played the third … Continue reading

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DiDonato leads the vocal pyrotechnics in a dazzling Semiramide at the Royal Opera

Rossini: Semiramide **** Royal Opera, 19th November 2017 Semiramide is a rare visitor to London. Opera Rara offered a splendid Prom in the Hanging Gardens of South Kensington last year, while the only time Rossini’s opera seria was presented in Covent Garden since … Continue reading

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