Monthly Archives: February 2018

One step towards paradise: heavenly Mahler from Chen Reiss with the Philharmonia

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Philharmonia/ Shani **** Royal Festival Hall, 11th February 2018 At the climax of the third movement to his Fourth Symphony, Mahler pushes wide the pearly gates before offering us a child’s vision of heaven with the song Das himmlische Leben. It’s a glorious … Continue reading →

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Filing past the tomb of the master: Jurowski and the LPO on Stravinsky’s debt to Rimsky-Korsakov

Posted on February 8, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Stravinsky: LPO/ Jurowski **** Royal Festival Hall, 7th February 2018 “To orchestrate is to create, and this cannot be taught,” explained Rimsky-Korsakov in the preface to his book Principles of Orchestration. The composer himself was self-taught in such matters, yet the dazzling … Continue reading →

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Rebellious Beethoven from Nicola Benedetti, Marin Alsop and the OAE

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Beethoven: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/ Alsop **** Royal Festival Hall, 4th February 2018 It was Robert Schumann who called Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony “a slender Greek maiden between two Norse giants”. Nestling between the revolutionary Eroica and the Fifth’s hammer blows … Continue reading →

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Murder on the dance floor: an underwhelming Masked Ball from Opera North

Posted on February 4, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Verdi: Un ballo in maschera ** Opera North, Leeds Grand Theatre, 3rd February 2018 If you had received an invitation to a masked ball at which there turned out to be no masks and no dancing, it’s understandable you’d feel … Continue reading →

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Wheel of Fortune: Preziosilla spins Pountney’s Force of Destiny

Posted on February 3, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Verdi: La forza del destino **** Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, 2nd February 2018 When the entire plot is triggered by a freak accident, you can’t blame director David Pountney for making Fate itself the opera’s key character. The first scene of Verdi’s La … Continue reading →

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