| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 18-Apr-2012 Shostakovich Philharmonic Hall (Grand Hall) | An International Composers Competition in St. Petersburg: Part 1 |
 Last week, I was lucky enough to visit St. Petersburg to hear two concerts featuring winning pieces from the newly-launched St. Romanos Melodos I International Composers Competition. The aim of this competition is to revive ‘the spiritual and musical traditions founded in pre-revolution Russia’, and it was a fascinating window for me into a very different musical culture.
Read full review... | |
| 6-Apr-2012 Birmingham Symphony Hall | Gergiev and the Mariinsky excel in Wagner's Parsifal at the Birmingham Symphony Hall |
 Why attend a concert performance of an opera? What is the point without the action and the spectacle collectively resulting in, hopefully, the awe-inspiring whole? In answer to this I should like to suggest that concert performances of opera are the perfect opportunity to really ‘get under the skin’ of a work, for two principal reasons. Firstly: scenery, costumes, props, lighting effects, choking dry-ice and even pungent aromas used to aid the action are absent, and thus one may connect with the music and plot completely free of distractions. Secondly: why not just listen to a recording?Read full review... | |
| 31-Jul-2011 Royal Albert Hall | Noseda's Rachmaninov |
.jpg) From Soprano Svetla Vasseliva’s vampish allure to Gianandrea Noseda’s warrior-like conducting, Prom 22 was a quintessentially Romantic affair with Russia at its heart. This Proms Choral Sunday, devoted to the music of Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninov, brought impassioned performances from the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra (with Noseda at the helm), the Chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre and a hat-trick of Proms debutant soloists. Vocally speaking, precision was sometimes sacrificed to the gods of exuberance, but the rewards were frequently thrilling.
Read full review... | |
