Tag Archives: Rachmaninov

A polished London debut recital from George Li

George Li *** St John’s, Smith Square, 20th March 2018 George Li is not a flashy pianist. There are no histrionics, no gurning, no gazing into the middle distance for poetic effect. Instead, the Chinese-American, silver medalist in the 2015 … Continue reading

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Wrath, hellfire and Soviet shadows from Orozco-Estrada and the LPO

LPO/ Andrés Orozco-Estrada *** Royal Festival Hall, 25th October 2017 Here’s a lethal Rachmaninov drinking game: down a finger of vodka at each quotation of the Dies irae. By the end of his Symphonic Dances, you’d be under the table. Rachmaninov had a strange … Continue reading

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Prom 60: Petrenko and the Oslo Philharmonic wind up the decibel meter in Shostakovich

Oslo Philharmonic/ Vasily Petrenko **** Prom 60, Royal Albert Hall, 29th August 2017 There could hardly be a noisier way to commemorate the centenary of the Russian Revolution than a performance of Dmitri Shostakovich’s mighty Twelfth Symphony. The composer had planned … Continue reading

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Proms 37/38: A whiff of incense as Dausgaard and the Latvians explore Rachmaninov and religion

Rachmaninov **** Proms 37-38, Royal Albert Hall, 13th August 2017 “The sound of church bells dominated all the cities of Russia I used to know,” said Sergei Rachmaninov. “They accompanied every Russian from childhood to grave, and no composer could escape their … Continue reading

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A not so brief encounter with the Moscow Philharmonic

Yuri Simonov/Moscow Philharmonic **** The Anvil, Basingstoke, 23rd May 2017 What a difference a week makes. After last Thursday’s Pictures at an Exhibition where the Orchestre de Paris coated a pristine layer of French polish over Mussorgsky’s score, the Moscow … Continue reading

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