Author Archives: John

COPLAND Duo for Flute & Piano; WEIR Airs from Another Planet; MOZART Quintet for im Horton’s Piano and Wind in E flat K452: Ensemble 360 Not really a great deal to say here. I found the Copland work as undistinguished as other works I have come across of his recently. It was very well performedContinue reading “Copland/Weir/Mozart: Ensemble 360; Sheffield Crucible studio 20/5/22”

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas No.30 in E Op.109; No.31 in A flat Op.110; 32 in C minor Op.111; WALLEN The Negro Speaks of Rivers; FRANCES-HOAD Invocation; BEETHOVEN Cello Sonata Op.102 No.2 Tim Horton, Ensemble 360 These are very difficult works to listen to with many incidental – indeed transcendental –  beauties,  but often with quirks andContinue reading “Beethoven/Wallen/Hoad: Ensemble 360; Sheffield Crucible studio 20/5/22”

Director, David Alden; Set designer Paul Steinberg; Costume designer, Gideon Davey; Lighting designer, Adam Silverman. Conductor, Jakub Hruša; Brandon Jovanovich, Lohengrin; Jennifer Davis, Elsa; Maida Hundeling, Ortrud; Craig Colclough, Telramund; Gábor Bretz, King Henry This is only the third live production I’ve been to of Lohengrin. The first was in 1972 at Bayreuth (a WolfgangContinue reading “Wagner, Lohengrin: ROHCG, 11/05/22”

Richard Strauss: Don Juan, Burleske, Also sprach Zarathustra: Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Andris Nelsons conductor, Rudolf, Buchbinder, piano All the paeans of praise about this great orchestra from last night are equally applicable again tonight. A few points I perhaps missed out: There was so much to enjoy in this second concert – in Don Juan, theContinue reading “Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Andris Nelsons: R.Strauss. Barbican 10/05/22”

Dinara Klinton piano: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor Op. 111; Prokofiev, Piano Sonata No. 8 in B flat Op. 84 The Benjamin Britten Piano Fellowship was won in 2014 by Ukrainian-born Dinara Klinton who currently combines the role of Professor of Piano at the Royal College of Music with her career asContinue reading “Dinara Klinton piano, Wigmore Hall, lunchtime 10/5/22”

Richard Strauss: Macbeth, Der Rosenkavalier suite, Ein Heldenleben: Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Andris Nelsons conductor The concert was supposed to be the first of four this week, with not only the Leipzig but also the Boston Symphony, Nelsons’ two orchestras, and featuring with the BSO at the Festival Hall the Alpine Symphony, the Sinfonia Domestica, Lisa DavidsenContinue reading “Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Andris Nelsons: R.Strauss. Barbican 09/05/22”

Turandot, Liudmyla Monastyrska; Calaf, Yonghoon Lee;  Liu, Ermonela Jaho; Timur, Ferruccio Furlanetto; conductor, Marco Armiliato; director, Franco Zeffirelli Oh dear…… Turandot is a bit of a problem really in any performance but particularly in this – presumably fairly ancient – Zeffirelli one. Orientalist, sexist (at least as far as Liu is concerned, and to someContinue reading “Puccini: Turandot. Met Opera live stream to Sheffield Cinema. 07/05/22”

Edale Music Festival 2022 April 29, 30 & May 1st This was an exciting weekend where Martin Cropper, the Director, some staff and ex-students, and current advanced students, at the Sheffield Music Academy performed a weekend of chamber music at Edale Parish Church. As I was involved in organising this, I am simply placing this onContinue reading “Derbyshire – Edale Music Festival in memory of Peter Cropper, given by staff and students, past and present, of the Sheffield Music Academy 29/4/22 – 1/5/22”

London Philharmonic Orchestra, Enrique Mazzola conductor, Renée Fleming soprano. Dvořák: Overture, Othello; Verdi: Dances, Willow song, Ave Maria from Otello; Strauss: Introduction; Moonlight Music; Finale from Capriccio The programme of this (great) concert was built around Ms Fleming, and the Othello/Richard Strauss themes of the first and second had little connection between the two otherContinue reading “Dvorak / Verdi / R.Strauss: LPO, Mazzola, Fleming. RFH, 22/4/22”

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 7 (Sinfonia Antarctica); Symphony No. 2 ‘A London Symphony’).  BBC Philharmonic- John Wilson, conductorh I suppose the connection in the programming here would be that (apart from similar orchestral resources being needed, which makes it sensible and efficient to put the two works together), like Richard Strauss’ Alpine Symphony, these worksContinue reading “Vaughan Williams: BBC Philharmonic / Wilson; Bridgewater Hall 8/4/22”