| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 26-Apr-2013 Walt Disney Concert Hall | Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Lionel Bringuier with the LA Philharmonic in Saint-Säens and Ravel |
 It was the golden jubilee of Saint-Säens as a concert pianist, and in celebration he performed his crowning glory, the Piano Concerto no. 5 in F, “Egyptian”, which he composed while on tour in Luxor, incorporating exotic Middle Eastern melodies and rhythms. The concerto is not known to be given over to excessive fin de siècle romanticism, and whatever there was Jean-Yves Thibaudet certainly didn’t overindulge in.Read full review... | |
| 16-Mar-2013 Usher Hall | Nicola Benedetti's Siver Violin tour at Edinburgh's Usher Hall |
 Last night’s concert in the Usher Hall contained so many different strands, that it defies simple categorisation. One of a series of nine concerts in Scotland, its first objective was clearly to promote Miss Benedetti’s latest CD, The Silver Violin. This recording features tributes to many of the great composers who wrote film music for the silver screen, hence the title. A lavish and expensive tour brochure, with lots of photographs of Miss Benedetti looking by turns glamorous, alluring, pensive and so on, served as programme.Read full review... | |
| 6-Mar-2013 The Morgan Library and Museum | A Parisian affair at the Morgan Library, New York |
 Regular concert-goers are used to hearing the harp on a church altar or mixed in with a large symphony, barely audible above the mass of strings, bass and brass. But the St Luke’s Chamber Ensemble put the harp center stage, in an evening of 20th-century French music, no less.
Read full review... | |
| 16-Feb-2013 San Diego Civic Theatre | San Diego Opera's Samson and Delilah excels with strong cast and provoking production |
 To Camille Saint-Saëns, the operatic appeal of the biblical subject of Samson is perfectly understandable. Theoretically, the story contains the dramatic trappings of exciting grand opera: a romance, tragedy, larger-than-life setting, a ballet. But for current operatic audiences, it is easy for the subject to appear stale. With a lack of dramatic dynamism, staging this piece can be a challenge. Saint-Saëns’ sweeping score leaves a lot of freedom for dramatic interpretation and the results can be ineffective.
Read full review... | |
