F Berwald Grand Septet in B flat major. C Nielsen Serenata in Vano. L van Beethoven Septet in E Flat, Op. 2 Wigmore Soloists is intended to be a new super-group of chamber music players, led by the clarinettist, Michael Collins. It clearly has a flexible group of players – two of the musicians inContinue reading “Beethoven etc. Wigmore Soloists. Buxton Festival, St John’s Church, 15/7/24”
Tag Archives: piano
Evgeny Kissin, piano. Barbican, 25/6/25
Bach Partita No 2; Chopin Nocturne No 1, Op 27, Nocturne No 2, Op 21, Scherzo No 4. Shostakovich Piano Sonata No 2, Prelude and Fugue in D-Flat Major, Prelude and Fugue in D-Minor I wanted to go to this recital partly because Kissin is a very significant pianist, and I was keen to hearContinue reading “Evgeny Kissin, piano. Barbican, 25/6/25”
Song Recital, Wigmore Hall 20/6/25 7pm
Benjamin Appl baritone; Simon Lepper piano. Songs by Schubert, Kurtag, Brahms, Liszt and Eisler This was a recital I was looking forward to as a challenge – to explore works new to me. Appl, a much-praised young German singer, was the last student Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau took on, and so Appl has set up a European tourContinue reading “Song Recital, Wigmore Hall 20/6/25 7pm”
Mozart/Beethoven/ Elgar; Ensemble 360, Crucible, Sheffield, 24/5/25
Mozart Flute Quartet in D K285; Beethoven Quintet for Piano and Wind Op.16; Elgar Piano Quintet Op.84 It’s a pity I have been to so little of the Ensemble 360 annual Chamber Music Festival – a lot of good things to go and see (20 concerts) but in the event this was only the second and last I’veContinue reading “Mozart/Beethoven/ Elgar; Ensemble 360, Crucible, Sheffield, 24/5/25”
Ravel / Farrenc/ Durufle/ Schumann.: Ensemble 360, Crucible, Sheffield,19/5/25
Ravel (arr. Farrington) Mother Goose Suite ; Farrenc Sextet; DURUFLÉ Prélude, récitatif et variations; Schumann Piano Quintet in E flat Op.44 This was a varied and interesting programme, with the best definitely last…..The Ravel piece I know from its full chamber orchestra version – here it had one each of strings, woodwind, horn and percussion,Continue reading “Ravel / Farrenc/ Durufle/ Schumann.: Ensemble 360, Crucible, Sheffield,19/5/25”
R. Strauss, An Alpine Symphony. Halle / Elder – Bridgewater Hall, 10/5/25
Halle Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder conductor. Huw Watkins, Concerto for Orchestra (world premiere); R. Strauss An Alpine Symphony This was Mark Elder’s one concert with the Halle in this, the first year after he retired from being music director. It was billed as a big deal on Halle’s Facebook page – it also had aContinue reading “R. Strauss, An Alpine Symphony. Halle / Elder – Bridgewater Hall, 10/5/25”
Shostakovich: Symphony no 7 “Leningrad”: RPO, Petrenko. RFH 27/4/25
Sibelius Finlandia; Weill Four Walt Whitman Songs; Shostakovich Symphony No.7, ‘Leningrad’ (with film). Vasily Petrenko Conductor. Roderick Williams Baritone; Kirill Serebrennikov Art Director; Ilya Shaglov Video Artist. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra I didn’t spot this concert as an upcoming event until a week before it happened. Vasily Petrenko is a conductor I always enjoy hearing but, somehow, I don’t always get newsContinue reading “Shostakovich: Symphony no 7 “Leningrad”: RPO, Petrenko. RFH 27/4/25”
Tippett, Beethoven: Pappano, LSO. Barbican 23/3/25
Tippett A Child of Our Time; Beethoven Symphony No 9, Choral. London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Antonio Pappano conductor; Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha soprano; J’Nai Bridges mezzo-soprano; Sean Pannikar tenor, Soloman Howard, bass With the Barbican Hall completely sold out. this was an extremely generous programme, in terms of content and the demands on soloists, choir andContinue reading “Tippett, Beethoven: Pappano, LSO. Barbican 23/3/25”
Brahms, Halle Orchestra. Bridgewater Hall, 20/3/24
Kahchun Wong conductor, Mariam Batsashvili piano: Ifukube Japanese Suite for Orchestra; Liszt Piano Concerto No.1; Brahms Symphony No.1This was another very exciting and impressive concert from Kachun Wong and the Halle. The first three concerts I have heard him conducting this season were Mahler/Bruckner-based and I wondered how he would get on with more traditionalContinue reading “Brahms, Halle Orchestra. Bridgewater Hall, 20/3/24”
Bartok, Berlin Philharmonic: Berlin Philharmonie,13/3/25
Berliner Philharmoniker: Jakub Hrůša, conductor, Seong-Jin Cho, piano. Janáček: Fate, Suite; Beethoven: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 5 in E flat major op. 73; Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra Sz 116 This was my first visit to the Philharmoniie in Berlin, and it’s as spectacular and impressive a building as everyone has always told meContinue reading “Bartok, Berlin Philharmonic: Berlin Philharmonie,13/3/25”
John's musical journey 