| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 25-May-2013 Walt Disney Concert Hall | Alden's Marriage of Figaro at the LA Phil leaves out Da Ponte |
 Even Emperor Josef II would have thought this was a bad idea. The real-life monarch depicted in Peter Shaffer’s fictional play Amadeus quite memorably forbade ballet in his court operas. But the absurdity of the dancers carrying on with no music playing in Mozart’s Act III convinced the Emperor that he was in the wrong. It’s too bad that stage director Christopher Alden wasn’t able to arrive at the same conclusion after hearing Mozart’s ballet music with no ballet dancing.
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| 13-Mar-2013 Lincoln Center: Avery Fisher Hall | NY Philharmonic and Choral Artists blaze through Bach's culminating masterwork |
 Under conductor Alan Gilbert, the New York Philharmonic and the New York Choral Artists gave an inspired but slightly uneven performance of J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor on Wednesday night. Playing with great panache as well as a mindful sense of the historical weight of the piece, the vocalists and musicians gave bristling and glistening life to a timeless work. Slight hiccups in vocal performance included, the music came across brilliantly. If the decisive blow is always struck left-handed, then Gilbert and the full choral-symphonic ensemble struck with both.
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| 4-Oct-2012 Barbican Centre: Hall | Mozart and Mahler make for an enigmatic evening with the London Symphony Orchestra |
 Why would the London Symphony Orchestra pair Mozart’s Symphony no. 41 in C major, “Jupiter” and Mahler’s songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn? There seemed to be no direct link between them other than that both demonstrate their composers’ fondness for mystery. However, it was a programme that worked for me on Thursday; after a delightful Mozart symphony, I was ready to be engaged by the darker, mysterious Mahler.
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