Tag Archives: Saint-Saëns

A lunchtime feast from Michael Collins and Michael McHale at Wigmore Hall

Michael Collins & Michael McHale Wigmore Hall, 18th June 2020 These Wigmore Hall lunchtime streams are proving a real tonic, seeing the return of live music-making to the UK, albeit to an audience currently watching at home. It helps that John Gilhooly’s … Continue reading

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Poetry and panache: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet excels in Ravel with the LPO

Krivine/ London Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Festival Hall, 14th February 2020 Jean-Efflam Bavouzet has been immersed in the music of Maurice Ravel this week, touring the Left Hand Concerto with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, criss-crossing the country and sharing solo duties … Continue reading

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Softly awakes my cold, cold heart: a tepid Samson et Dalila in Vienna

Saint-Saëns: Samson et Dalila *** Wiener Staatsoper, 12th May 2018 Strip Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila of its biblical setting and what have you got left? An individual who succumbs to temptation and forfeits his life to kill hundreds of his religious enemies. … Continue reading

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As English as roast beef: Nézet-Séguin and L’Orchestre Métropolitain bring Elgar to Paris

Orchestre Métropolitain/ Nézet-Séguin **** Philharmonie, Paris, 3rd December 2017 It’s always interesting to hear non-English orchestras and conductors playing Elgar. Daniel Barenboim, for example, has established a strong tradition with his Staatskapelle Berlin, as heard at the BBC Proms this summer. Here … Continue reading

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Prom 51: Hearty Elgar from Oramo and the BBCSO

BBCSO/ Oramo *** Prom 51, Royal Albert Hall, 22nd August 2017 Is traditional English pub grub popular in Helsinki? Perhaps Sakari Oramo got a taste for it during his Birmingham years for there was something “stout and steaky” – to borrow the … Continue reading

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