| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 26-Oct-2012 The Royal Conservatory of Music, TELUS Centre, Koerner Hall | The sound of greatness: Valery Gergiev and the Stradivarius Ensemble at Toronto's Koerner Hall |
 The Mariinsky Orchestra are great, because Valery Gergiev arranges a schedule that only the great could sustain. In the two weeks before they arrived in Toronto, his musicians played six performances of Swan Lake in Berkeley, California. Then Gergiev took them back to St Petersburg (October 15–23) to play the operas Boris Godunov and Aida. Their current Canada/US tour brings 28 of the orchestra’s core strings, renowned as the Stradivarius Ensemble, to five cities in six days, beginning this Friday in Toronto’s acoustic wonder, Koerner Hall.
Read full review... | |
| 15-Sep-2012 Birmingham Symphony Hall | CBSO and Andris Nelsons: Metamorphosen and Mahler 2 |
 Pairing Richard Strauss’ Metamorphosen with Mahler’s mighty Resurrection Symphony made for an emotionally exhausting season opener in Birmingham, taking a packed Symphony Hall from anguished lamentation to fist-clenched fury and, ultimately, shattering resolution.
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| 22-Feb-2012 BBC Hoddinott Hall | BBC National Orchestra of Wales at Hoddinott Hall |
 Composed in under a month in 1945 against the backdrop of a burning, war-torn Dresden, Strauss’ Metamorphosen provided the perfect opening to a concert which explored themes of desolation and mourning. Commissioned by Swiss conductor Paul Sacher, Metamorphosen is a composition for 23 strings, inspired by Goethe’s poem ‘Niemand wird sich Selber kennen’ (‘No one can know himself’).Read full review... | |
| 10-Feb-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Beethoven's triumphant spirit shines through with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
 The concert to open the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's 80th Anniversary Series was very much one of contrasts. With the promise of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the season seemed to be opening in celebratory style. However, the entire first half was devoted to Richard Strauss' Metamorphosen, a piece which is a far cry from the triumphant finale of the Beethoven.
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