Category: Baroque
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Collegium Vocale Gent at the Barbican review *****
Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe (conductor), Dorothee Mields (soprano), Hanna Blazikova (soprano), Alex Potter (countertenor), Thomas Hobbs (tenor), Krešimir Stražanac (bass) Barbican Hall, 14th June 2019 It’s Bach. It’s the B Minor Mass. So of course it is beautiful. But it can be a bit, well, “bitty”. After all the…
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Bach Orchestral Suites: OAE at Queen Elizabeth Hall review ****
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Margaret Faultless (director/violin), Lisa Beznosiuk (flute) Queen Elizabeth Hall, 14th May 2019 Okey dokey pig in a pokey. There has been a grumpy tone in the last few posts that the workshy Tourist, courtesy of an imagined pep talk from Pauline, is resolved to…
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Bach St John Passion: OAE at the Royal Festival Hall review ****
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Simon Rattle (conductor), Peter Sellars (director), Choir of the Enlightenment Royal Festival Hall, 2nd April 2019 JS Bach – St John Passion Camilla Tilling (soprano) Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano) Andrew Staples (tenor) Mark Padmore (tenor, Evangelist) Roderick Williams (baritone, Jesus) George Nigl (baritone) The Tourist, along with chum for the night…
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English Chamber Orchestra at Cadogan Hall review *****
English Chamber Orchestra, Jessica Cottis (conductor), Ben Johnson (tenor), Ben Goldscheider (horn) Cadogan Hall, 16th March 2019 Ravel – Le Tombeau de Couperin Britten – Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Op.31 Purcell/Britten – Suite of Six Songs from Orpheus Britannicus Stravinsky – Pulcinella Suite I love Britten’s Serenade, first…
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Lucie Horsch and the AAM at Milton Court review *****
Academy of Ancient Music, Richard Egarr (harpsichord, director), Lucie Horsch (recorder) Milton Court Concert Hall, 24th February 2019 Antonio Vivaldi – Flautino Concerto in C major, RV443 (arr in G major for recorder) JS Bach – Harpsichord Concerto No 3 in D major BW V1054 Giuseppe Sammartini – Recorder Concerto…
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Philippe Herreweghe and Philharmonia at the Royal Festival Hall review ****
Philharmonia Orchestra, Philippe Herreweghe (conductor),Bertrand Chamayou (piano) Royal Festival Hall, 21st February 2019 JS Bach – Orchestral Suite No.3 in D Mozart – Piano Concerto No.23 in A, K.488 Mozart – Symphony No.41 (Jupiter) A rare opportunity to hear modern instruments tackle some core Baroque and Classical orchestral repertoire in an HIP style,…
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Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra at the Barbican review ****
Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Marios Papadopoulos (conductor), Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin), Maxim Vengerov (violin), Martha Argerich (piano) Barbican Hall, 12th January 2019 JS Bach – Concerto for Two Violins in D minor BWV 1043, Robert Schumann – Piano Concerto in A minor Op 54 Beethoven – Symphony No 3 in E flat…
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The Favourite film review *****
The Favourite, 3rd January 2019 The more theatre I see, the more I am turning into an insufferably superior luvvie. “A play will always trump a film because it is organic, dynamic, viewed from multiple perspectives, energised by audience complicity, palpable, alive, more daring in terms of form and structure”…
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My top ten concerts and opera of 2018
Just a list so I don’t forget. 1. A Midsummer Night’s Dream – English National Opera – 4th March Not quite a war-horse of a production but Robert Carsen’s version of Britten’s Shakespearean opera looks, sounds and, well, is just wonderful. 2. Ligeti in Wonderland – South Bank – 11th,…
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Venice Baroque Orchestra and Avi Avital at Wigmore Hall review *****
Venice Baroque Orchestra, Avi Avital (mandolin) Wigmore Hall, 22nd December 2018 Francesco Geminiani Concerto Grosso in D minor after Corelli’s ‘La Follia’ Op. 5 No. 12 Vivaldi – Concerto in D for lute and strings RV93 Vivaldi – Sinfonia in G RV146 Vivaldi – Concerto in A minor Op. 3…
At Home He Feels Like A Tourist 