Tag Archives: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

A feast of Rossini as Albina Shagimuratova dazzles in Semiramide

Rossini: Semiramide **** Opera Rara, Royal Albert Hall, 4th September 2016 Complete performances of Semiramide are as rare as hen’s teeth. Even at La Fenice – where the opera was given 28 times following its 1823 première, sometimes four nights in … Continue reading

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Winds of Change: a new bassoon concerto ushered in by the OAE

Mozart, Gordon/ OAE *** St John’s Smith Square, 7th May 2016 It’s likely that Mozart never actually heard his Clarinet Concerto performed. His friend Anton Stadler gave the première in Prague in October 1791, less than two months before the … Continue reading

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Rhine Journey: curious and boisterous Schumann with the OAE

Brahms/Schumann: Kopatchinskaja; OAE/Alsop *** Royal Festival Hall, 6th February 2016 Exaggerated claims were made for Robert Schumann’s Violin Concerto in recent weeks. It was his final orchestral work, composed shortly before he was admitted to an asylum. After his death, … Continue reading

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Many strings to their bows: Rachel Podger and the OAE

Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann, Pisendel: Rachel Podger/OAE **** St John’s Smith Square, 24th November 2015 The closure of the Queen Elizabeth Hall for renovation is great news for St John’s Smith Square, with many recitals and period instrument bands being relocated … Continue reading

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McVicar’s stylish Entführung emerges as a strong moral tale at Glyndebourne

Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail **** Glyndebourne, 13th June 2015 “Too many notes, Herr Mozart,” was Emperor Joseph II’s response to the composer’s new Singspiel Die Entführung aus dem Serail. I feared “Too many words, Sir David,” would be my response … Continue reading

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