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I have never as far as I can remember ever heard the Goldberg Variations played on a harpsichord, though clearly that was the instrument for which it was presumably originally written. It is a very different experience to hear the work played on a piano by, say, Glenn Gould or Andras Schiff (whom I heardContinue reading “Bach Goldberg Variations Steven Devine Kings Place 26/06/21”

This was a world-class concert. Last week the two concerts scheduled by the CBSO had to be cancelled because a member of the orchestra tested positively for Covid. It had earlier been announced that Mirga was ill! This week though everyone was present and correct – and it was a pretty large orchestra (strings hadContinue reading “Weinberg and Mahler, CBSO, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Birmingham 23/6/21”

I am getting a bit embarrassed at all my positive reviews – no doubt in part because of 15 months of lockdown and the absence of live music – but the Opera North performance of Fidelio I saw in Nottingham on June 19th really was quite something! I had originally meant to see it inContinue reading “Opera North: Fidelio: Nottingham, 19/6/21”

The programme was Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, Osvaldo Golijov’s Last Round, and Beethoven 7 with Tabita Berglund conducting the Halle. I thought this was a very, very good concert. The connection between the pieces was, I guess, the progress from the meditation and stillness of the Wagner to two different manifestations of dance and movement (andContinue reading “Wagner/Golijov/Beethoven – Halle, Tabita Berglund, Bridgewater Hall 17/6/21”

Another great concert (I’m sure I’ll come across some duds at some point, but this wasn’t one of them). The Chiarascuro Quartet was playing two works – the Haydn String Quartet in B minor, Op. 33 No. 1, and the Beethoven String Quartet No. 13 in B flat, Op. 130 (so, one of the ‘lateContinue reading “Chiaroscuro Quartet Haydn / Beethoven Kings Place 14/6/21”

This was a recital of piano music by Knussen, Mozart, Prokofiev and Schubert. Ms Suhanova is a Latvian, UK-trained, pianist in the early stages of her career. None of these works were familiar to me, except the Schubert. I particularly enjoyed the Mozart (K311), which was graceful and fairly swift – there were interesting quirksContinue reading “Antonina Suhanova, piano 11/6/21 Wigmore Hall”

This was a truly absorbing concert, booked-ended by extracts from the Creatures of Prometheus ballet by Beethoven, a piece new to me for string orchestra by Sibelius – Rakstava –  as well as two pieces by Ades – one a UK premiere – and Janacek’s Concertino This is the sort of concert I probably wouldn’tContinue reading “Britten Sinfonia – Thomas Ades. 50th birthday concert 10/6/21 Barbican”

My first concert back in the Bridgewater Hall since Feb 27 2020! I also went to the rehearsal, open to patrons of the Halle, on Wed 2 June, where the focus was on the Glinka and the Elgar. The Halle sounded wonderful for the most part, despite, like the LSO (see a previous blog entry)Continue reading “Elgar/Stravinsky/Glinka – Halle/Elder Manchester 03/06/21”

This (evening) recital was enjoyable – the quartet were playing Haydn (Op 33, no 5), Schumann (Op 41, no 3) and some Scottish folk song pieces written by one of the Quartet players, Duncan Grant. I particularly enjoyed the Haydn; within the perhaps limited frame of reference and the scope of elegance and wit thatContinue reading “Elias Quartet, 27/5/21; Wigmore Hall”

My first foray live into a concert hall since February 27 2020! It was a programme I might previously have thought to be too familiar – I don’t think I will ever take such concerts for granted again.  The Barbican felt comfortably full, despite the socially distanced seating, and indeed the show was a sell-outContinue reading “LSO – Yuja Wang and Michael Tilson Thomas, 27/5/21: Barbican”