Tag Archives: Tchaikovsky

Staring into the abyss: a devastating Pathétique opens the LPO’s season

Jurowski/ London Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Festival Hall, 27th September 2019 From the string sighs of “Désir”, the first of Oliver Knussen’s Scriabin Settings, to the hollow rasp of the double basses’ dying growls in the Pathétique, this was a concert … Continue reading

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Soulful Weinberg from Sol Gabetta and the BBCSO

Prom 25: Stasevska/ BBCSO Royal Albert Hall, 6th August 2019 The resurgence of interest in the music of Mieczysław Weinberg continues apace. His harrowing opera The Passenger is becoming more widely appreciated; Gidon Kremer has been banging the Weinberg drum … Continue reading

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From Pärnu with Love: Tchaikovsky 2 fizzes under Paavo Järvi

Paavo Järvi/Estonian Festival Orchestra Pärnu Music Festival, 21st July 2019 “Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Sow the Wind, Mussorgsky’s Songs of Dances of Death and Tchaikovsky 2… this is not good box office!” admitted Paavo Järvi at the reception following the final concert … Continue reading

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Alice Sara Ott and Scheherazade both weave tales with the London Symphony Orchestra

Elim Chan/London Symphony Orchestra Barbican, 9th June 2019 What qualities make for a good storyteller? Someone with a captivating voice to draw in listeners. Someone who makes eye contact. Someone who brings a story alive through vivid characterisation, be it … Continue reading

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White hot intensity from Gergiev and the Mariinsky in its Tchaikovsky–Petipa tribute

Tchaikovsky: Valery Gergiev/ Mariinsky Orchestra Cadogan Hall, 4th & 5th March 2019 Uneven. Unpredictable. Unprepared. The Mariinsky Orchestra’s visits to the UK can be all those things, mostly down to the punishing schedule of its artistic director, Valery Gergiev. Their … Continue reading

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