| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 26-Apr-2013 Birmingham Symphony Hall | The Budapest Festival Orchestra and Iván Fischer make a legendary pairing in Birmingham |
 The Budapest Festival Orchestra are a relatively well-kept secret, although goodness knows why. Perhaps it is something to do with their young age (formed in 1983) or their somewhat utilitarian name. They were ranked number nine in a rather arbitrary Gramophone magazine survey of the best orchestras in the world, but on the evidence of this concert I would have had no quibbles if they had been placed in the top three.
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| 3-Apr-2013 Carnegie Hall: Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage | Boston Symphony Orchestra soars through Hindemith, Rachmaninov and Bartók |
 You might not think that a conductor nearing his 80th birthday and leading an orchestra from a swivel chair would be as effective as a conductor in full health, but you would be wrong. On Wednesday night at Carnegie Hall, the Boston Symphony Orchestra careened through a delightfully energetic performance led by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, a frequent guest conductor for this orchestra and several others across North America. Mr Frühbeck de Burgos, even while seated, drew crisp interpretations of three works composed within a thirteen-year span, from 1930 to 1943.Read full review... | |
| 20-Jan-2013 Walt Disney Concert Hall | LA Phil finds focus on Bartók, Kodály – but not on Eötvös |
 The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s January 20 concert, the last in its “Focus on Eötvös” mini-residency, may as well have been called “Focus on Hungary.” The small, landlocked country, with barely over 9 million residents, has exerted – and continues to exert – a powerful influence on music. Even discounting Franz Liszt – ethnically Hungarian, but with a cultural outlook more tilted to Vienna and Paris than to Budapest – there is no disputing Hungary’s vast, even outsize contribution to musical culture.
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| 24-Nov-2012 Albertinum | The Dresden Philharmonic with Tzimon Barto and Alexander Liebreich |
 The regular home of the Dresden Philharmonic, Dresden’s Kulturpalast, is currently being renovated, and as a result the orchestra is taking residence in a number of venues around the city, including the city theatre, and the renowned Frauenkirche. However, the majority of their concerts this season are taking place in the Albertinum, one of Dresden’s many art galleries. The large hall where the concerts take place is an interesting space for a concert, lacking the imposing 19th-century grandeur of most concert halls, having instead a very modern feel.Read full review... | |
