Tag Archives: Beethoven

Binge-listening: a bumper Beethoven Weekender at the Barbican

Beethoven Weekender Barbican, 1st & 2nd February 2020 Ludwig overload? There are going to be many Beethoven cycles performed during this 250th anniversary year but probably none as concentrated as this: a binge-listen to the nine symphonies in just thirty … Continue reading

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Beethoven’s “problem child”: staging Fidelio in 2020

Interview: Amélie Niermeyer, Tobias Kratzer, Frederic Wake-Walker 31st January 2020 Beethoven referred to Fidelio, his sole opera, as his “Sorgenkind” (problem child). It was a work that cost him much heartache, especially when the first version – Leonore – failed … Continue reading

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Roll over Beethoven! Sir Roger Norrington parties like it’s 1985

Norrington/ Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Queen Elizabeth Hall, 28th January 2020 “Ta-daaaaaa!” There’s a wonderful publicity photograph of Sir Roger Norrington, holding his hands aloft as if a magician unveiling a new trick. The two fortissimo Ds punched … Continue reading

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Beethoven 250: Riccardo Chailly on the nine symphonies

Interview: Riccardo Chailly 27th January 2020 During his tenure as chief conductor of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig from 2005 to 2016, Riccardo Chailly undertook what amounted to a re-evaluation of Beethoven’s music, performing and recording the cycle of nine symphonies, taking … Continue reading

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A Brahms clarinet feast from Michael Collins and friends at Wigmore Hall

Stephen Hough: Brahms Residency Wigmore Hall, 6th January 2020 The playing of Richard Mühlfeld inspired Johannes Brahms to come out of self-imposed early retirement to compose four of the greatest clarinet works. The indefatigable Michael Collins very nearly did a … Continue reading

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