François-Xavier Roth/ LSO ****
Barbican Hall, 14th November 2018
The biennial Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition is just a week away. Winners have the opportunity to become assistant conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra for up to a year. Former winner François-Xavier Roth shadowed the great Sir Colin Davis. Eighteen years on, the sorcerer’s apprentice – now dubbed “Special FX” – is the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor, returning for another concert exploring the roots of musical modernism. Its three works were composed within two years, yet the gulf between the veiled gauze of Debussy’s Faune, Dvořák’s folksy Cello Concerto and the sonic glare of Strauss’ sunrise in Also sprach Zarathustra is vast.
François-Xavier Roth
© Holger Talinski
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