Tag Archives: Philharmonia

Esther Yoo’s affectionate Tchaikovsky the highlight of a disappointing evening with the Philharmonia

Philharmonia/ Karl-Heinz Steffens ** Royal Festival Hall, 2nd November 2017 Eduard Hanslick had a sharp tongue and an even sharper pen. The critic savagely dismissed Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto as “music that stinks”, while his verdict on a two-piano play-through of … Continue reading

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Smudgy haze and glaring sunbursts: Boulez and Debussy juxtaposed by Salonen and the Philharmonia

Boulez, Debussy: Philharmonia/Salonen *** Royal Festival Hall, 4th May 2017 Adventurous programming – or “curation” to employ the overused term from this concert’s publicity – is welcome, particularly if it refreshes fusty routine. Instead of the usual conductor entrance to … Continue reading

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Shrill frenzy: fierce Walton from Nicholas Collon and the Philharmonia

Walton, Vaughan Williams, Ravel: Philharmonia/Collon *** Royal Festival Hall, 1st December 2016 Breaking up is hard to do. If his First Symphony is anything to go by, William Walton took it particularly badly. A turbulent love affair with his mistress, … Continue reading

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Spectacular Tchaikovsky: Alice Sara Ott fires up an old warhorse

Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov: Philharmonia/Vladimir Ashkenazy **** Royal Festival Hall, 17th November 2016 Warhorse (noun): creaky old classic played by orchestras in their sleep at least once a season. Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto no. 1 in B flat minor falls into this category. Everyone … Continue reading

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Rhythmic precision: Foxy Stravinsky from Salonen and the Philharmonia

Stravinsky: Renard, Mavra, Les Noces **** Philharmonia/Salonen, Royal Festival Hall, 26th May 2016 A wedding feast, a man in drag and an outwitted fox were unlikely accomplices in the second concert in the Philharmonia’s series Stravinsky: Myths and Rituals. In … Continue reading

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