Wagner Siegfried Idyll; Wagner Excerpts from Götterdämmerung. London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle conductor. Anja Kampe Brünnhilde. Elizabeth DeShong Waltraute This concert was organised in probably the best way to arrange these ‘bleeding chunks’. Dawn and Siegfried’s Rhine Jourmey, plus Waltraute’s narration in the first half; Sigfried’s Idyll, leading to the Funeral March and theContinue reading “Wagner, Götterdämmerung extracts; LSO, Barbican, 24/5/26”
Tag Archives: classical-music
Nielsen, Storgårds: BBC Philharmonic, Bridgewater Hall, 16/5/26
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, John Storgårds conductor, Simone Lamsma violin. Rautavaara, Cantus Arcticus; Sibelius, Violin Concerto; Nielsen, Symphony No. 5 This was an absorbing concert and one I enjoyed very much. It also had quite a full and very appreciative audience. The BBC Philharmonic sounded glorious – really at the top of their game, and thisContinue reading “Nielsen, Storgårds: BBC Philharmonic, Bridgewater Hall, 16/5/26”
Bach, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, South Bank Centre 9/5/26
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2, BWV.870-893 It is a bit of a shock to the system – auditory, mental, emotional – to sit down and listen to two and a quarter-ish hours of Bach piano music, 48 separate pieces, which are without any sort of narrative or clear structure (unlike theContinue reading “Bach, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, South Bank Centre 9/5/26”
Tchaikovsky, Halle Orchestra, Elder – Bridgewater Hall, 7/5/26
Halle Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder conductor. Kostas Smoriginas baritone. Hallé Choir, Matthew Hamilton, choral director. Stravinsky Song of the Nightingale; Rachmaninov Spring; Glinka, Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture; Tchaikovsky Symphony No.2 This was a nicely designed programme featuring a couple of rarely heard works (and unknown to me) and a popular symphony (which, despite that popularity, I don’t think I’ve everContinue reading “Tchaikovsky, Halle Orchestra, Elder – Bridgewater Hall, 7/5/26”
Bartholomew LaFollette & Friends, Conway Hall, London. 26/4/26
Bartholomew LaFollette, ‘cello; Hyeyoon Park, violin; Caroline Palmer, piano. Nadia Boulanger; Three Pieces for cello & piano; Rachmaninoff, Cello Sonata in G minor Op.19; Schubert, Piano Trio in E flat D929 I’ve never been to the Conway Hall before. According to its website it is “a hub for ethical thought and dialogue since it openedContinue reading “Bartholomew LaFollette & Friends, Conway Hall, London. 26/4/26”
‘Hidden Gems’ of French Baroque Music, Ensemble Molière, Wigmore Hall, 26/4/26
François Collin de Blamont, Diane et Endymion, overture; Sébastien de Brossard, Sonate en Trio in E minor SdB. 220; Michel Corrette Sonata in B flat Op. 20 No. 4 ‘Les délices de la solitude; Louis-Gabriel Guillemain, Sonata in A minor Op. 17 No. 6; François Couperin, La sultane; Jean-François Dandrieu, Sonata in G minor Op.Continue reading “‘Hidden Gems’ of French Baroque Music, Ensemble Molière, Wigmore Hall, 26/4/26”
Wozzeck, Berg: LPO, Gardner, Royal Festival Hall, 25/4/26
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner conductor; Stéphane Degout, Wozzeck; Annette Dasch, Marie; Peter Hoare, Captain; Brindley Sherrat, Doctor; Christopher Ventris, Drum Major; Eirik Grøtvedt, Andres; Kitty Whately, Margret; Adrian Thompson, The Fool. London Voices Comments come to mind about London buses…. but I booked this a year ago, long before I knew about the ViennaContinue reading “Wozzeck, Berg: LPO, Gardner, Royal Festival Hall, 25/4/26”
Vaughan Williams, Halle Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall 16/4/26
Tarmo Peltokoski conductor; Silja Aalto soprano; Huw Montague Rendall baritone; Hallé Choir Matthew Hamilton, choral director, Hallé Youth Choir Stuart Overington, director. Mahler, Rückert-Lieder; Vaughan Williams Symphony No.1, ‘A Sea Symphony’ This was a somewhat odd piece of programming on the face of it – though obviously the Rückert-Lieder are broadly contemporary with the SeaContinue reading “Vaughan Williams, Halle Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall 16/4/26”
Vinci, Alessandro Nell ‘Indie: Theater an der Wien, 10/4/26
Orkiestra Historyczna, Arnold Schönberg Chor. Conductor, Martyna Pastuszka. Director, Max Emanuel Cencic. Alessandro: Maayan Licht; Cleofide: Bruno de Sá; Poro: Dennis Orellana; Erissena: Jake Arditti; Gandarte: Stefan Sbonnik; Timagene: Nicholas Tamagna Quite apart from the wish to see this production, I was also very interested to see the Theater an der Wien itself – thisContinue reading “Vinci, Alessandro Nell ‘Indie: Theater an der Wien, 10/4/26”
Berg, Wozzeck: Wiener Staatsoper, 9/4/26
Wozzeck, Johannes Martin Kränzle; Drum Major, Dmitry Golovnin; Captain, Jörg Schneider; Doctor, Dmitry Belosselskiy; Marie, Marlis Petersen. Conductor, Franz Welser-Möst; Director, Simon Stone; Designer, Bob Cousins; Costumes, Alice Babidge; Lighting, James Farncombe I spent an interesting morning at the Central Cemetery visiting musical graves – found after a bit of an effort on my partContinue reading “Berg, Wozzeck: Wiener Staatsoper, 9/4/26”
John's musical journey 