Tag Archives: Rachmaninov

A Russian heritage: Gergiev’s cataclysmic Rachmaninov with the LSO

Balakirev/Glazunov/Rachmaninov: LSO/ Gergiev *** Barbican Hall, 19th February 2015 With speculation mounting about the appointment of his successor as Principal Conductor, there has been little evaluation of Gergiev’s time at the helm of the LSO. Apart from an impulsive, erratic … Continue reading

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Blistering Shostakovich from Vasily Petrenko and the London Philharmonic

Rachmaninov/ Shostakovich: LPO/Jurowski **** Royal Festival Hall, 13th February 2015 Blistering Shostakovich crushed Rachmaninov in this uneven pairing, the London Philharmonic’s latest exploration into “Rachmaninoff: Inside out”. Self-imposed exile after the Russian Revolution saw Rachmaninov settle in the United States, … Continue reading

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The root of all evil: Jurowski and the LPO pair Rachmaninov’s Miserly Knight with Wagner’s greedy dwarf

Rachmaninov: The Miserly Knight/ Wagner: Das Rheingold *** LPO/Jurowski, 21st January 2015 Vladimir Jurowski is a wily programmer. The London Philharmonic’s season has been most interesting, their “Rachmaninoff Inside Out” series digging out rarities and putting them into context. In … Continue reading

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Genial Nielsen from the BBC SO and Sakari Oramo

BBC Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo *** Barbican, 16th January 2015 My introduction to Carl Nielsen was an interval feature on a television Proms broadcast, presented by comedian Alexei Sayle. It opened with photographs featuring the young Nielsen pulling grotesque gargoyle-like faces, … Continue reading

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Scorch marks: Searing Rachmaninov from Gergiev and the LSO

Rachmaninov: LSO/Gergiev **** Barbican, 11th November 2014 Fluttering fingers and jabbing a toothpick baton, it’s difficult see how an orchestra can follow the beat – any beat – indicated by Valery Gergiev. Yet the London Symphony Orchestra plays for him … Continue reading

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