| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 1-Feb-2013 Sage: Hall One | A Hero's Life: The Bergen Philharmonic at the Sage Gateshead |
 Richard Strauss’s tone poem Ein Heldenleben (“A Hero’s Life”) appears on the face of it to be a musical illustration of a medieval legend – perhaps a knight in shining armour, overcoming evil. The expansive opening theme shouts of heroism, monsters threaten, then there is a tender portrait of his lady before he heads off into battle. Except it isn’t like that at all. The “hero” of Strauss’s poem is the composer himself, the monsters are the music critics of Vienna, and the hero’s lady is an affectionately honest portrait of Strauss’s wife Pauline.
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| 8-Dec-2012 Salle Pleyel | German Romanticism with Emmanuel Krivine and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg |
 It is said that whilst developing a successful career as a violinist, the young Emmanuel Krivine was advised by the distinguished conductor Karl Böhm to further pursue his passion for conducting. Thankfully, Krivine took heed of such advice, or we would not today have what is undoubtedly one of Europe’s finest conductors. Renowned for his musical expertise in the symphonic and French repertoire, it is refreshing however to hear such a conductor tackle something beyond his field: an evening of German Romanticism.
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| 6-Nov-2012 Konzerthaus: Rolf Böhme Saal | A thrilling ride in Freiburg with the SWR Sinfonieorchester, Tilling and Roth |
23.jpg) Can two composers have so much, yet so little in common? Or be such accommodating, yet such uncomfortable bedfellows? The SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg with their principal conductor François-Xavier Roth addressed these questions in exhilarating style, in a “turn-of-the-century time capsule” which thrilled and enchanted upon its opening.
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| 8-Aug-2012 Royal Albert Hall | Prom 34: The BBC SO with Bychkov and the Labèques |
 We can never really know why Schubert left his Eighth Symphony unfinished, but that shouldn't stop us from playing such a wonderful piece of music. With its deathly still opening, turbulent central section and gentle slow movement, this symphony is one of Schubert's finest and most frequently performed works.
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