Tag Archives: Rachmaninov

Passionate, ebullient Rachmaninov from Paavo Jarvi and the NHK

Paavo Järvi/ NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo Royal Festival Hall, 24th February 2020 After his self-imposed exile from Russia in 1918, Sergei Rachmaninov never conducted his Second Symphony. Perhaps it was too painful a reminder of home – there’s something so … Continue reading

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Alexander Vedernikov and the BBCSO take a troika ride through the snow

Vedernikov/ BBCSO Barbican, 18th December 2019 Dreaming of a White Christmas? Just a week to go and not a single flake of snow has fallen on London, so there’s no imminent threat of travel chaos at the merest hint of … Continue reading

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Poetic Rachmaninov from Lugansky, but Rouvali’s Swan Lake not always on pointe

Rouvali/ Philharmonia Royal Festival Hall, 3rd November 2019 “See the music, hear the dance.” Few have encapsulated the relationship between dance and music as deftly as the great choreographer George Balanchine. Presenting ballet scores in concert raises issues. Liberated from … Continue reading

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Anglo-Russian repertoire as the Britten-Shostakovich Festival Orchestra closes its first tour

Latham-Koenig/ Britten-Shostakovich Festival Orchestra Cadogan Hall, 25th September 2019 Although political relations between Britain and Russia can still be chilly, The Cold War is long past. Even during that deepest frost, musicians reached out across the divide. One of the … Continue reading

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Triumphant Glazunov 5 crowns Jurowski’s evening of Russian “Henry Wood Novelties”

Prom 41: Jurowski/ London Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Albert Hall, 17th August 2019 “Henry Wood Novelties” sound like a brand of retro sweets on sale in nostalgia confectionary shops. But rather than strawberry laces, Parma violets or sherbet fountains, they form … Continue reading

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