| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 30-Aug-2012 Royal Albert Hall | Prom 63: Texture and atmosphere is all from the Berliner Philharmoniker |
 It was, truly, music from another world. Opening the concert with György Ligeti's 1961 Atmosphères, the Berliner Philharmoniker started with the gentlest of wafting string tones with clustered woodwind sounding almost organ-like, whereupon layer after layer piled in, an infinite variety of orchestral textures shifting and swirling. Mid way through this eight-minute piece, we jump from an ear-splitting, scary motif on the highest notes of a piccolo down to a thunderous passage on double basses, followed by the gentle swelling of strings, which morphs into a buzzing swarm.Read full review... | |
| 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... | |
| 1-Dec-2011 Birmingham Symphony Hall | 1911: A very good year for the symphony |
 ‘Intimate symphonic playing’: an oxymoron perhaps, but in the fantastic acoustic of Symphony Hall and with the polished playing of the CBSO, somehow these symphonies, even with the tooting trumpets, blaring bassoons and sonorous strings (not to mention the tonking timpani), had the feel of chamber music. Much credit for this intimate effect must go to Robert Spano who guided the orchestra, in the most part, with a light touch – flailing only where flailing alone would do.Read full review... | |
| 27-Oct-2011 Bridgewater Hall | Hallé and Marcus Stenz: Beethoven 2 |
 The second instalment in The Hallé Beethoven cycle was led by Principal Guest Conductor Marcus Stenz, and also featured the striking Nordic colours of Jean Sibelius and Magnus Lindberg.
Read full review... | |
