Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2019 i BBC Music Magazine

Ivan Hewett Journalist and lecturer ‘A marriage of a joking Scouse conductor and a glamorous Czech soprano – what better symbol could there be of European harmony? And as I discovered, it’s clearly a marriage made in heaven.’ Page 28 Freya Parr BBC Music’s editorial assistant ‘As the team’s resident millennial, I was delighted to be sent off to try the BBC Phil’s in-concert app, which transformed my listening experience. From now on, putting my phone away before a concert won’t feel quite right.’ Page 72 Mikel Toms Conductor and writer ‘Listening to over 20 recordings of Janáÿek’s colourful, passionate and idiosyncratic Taras Bulba (a mere 101 years young) has opened my eyes anew to this Moravian masterpiece’s depth and innovation.’ Page 82…

Acoustic marvels With regards to the picture of Elgar and Beatrice Harrison recording the Cello Concerto in your September issue, would they really have used acoustic horns in 1928? And doesn’t Elgar look a few years younger than you would think? I wondered if it was, in fact, the earlier acoustic recording from November 1920? For those who haven’t heard it, that acoustic recording is well worth a listen, despite its cuts. There is a sadness, beauty and authority to it, given the involvement of Elgar and Harrison and the players’ response to their music-making. There is also the added poignancy that it is a recording made only two years after the end of the war, and seven months after Lady Elgar’s death, and this poignancy is evident, despite the…

5 …days of viola music. A festival celebrating the instrument is being run by conductor Michael Tilson Thomas in Miami Beach, Florida this month. 18 …per cent of drivers listen to classical music when taking the family on long car journeys, says research conducted by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. 12 …months until a new £9.5m state-of-the-art music facility will open in Dudley, West Midlands. 89 …years old, and ready to retire. After 65 years on stage, popular bandleader Chris Barber has announced he is putting down his trombone for good.…

In April 1802 Beethoven travelled north of Vienna, a couple miles away from the bustling city and towards the small village of Heiligenstadt. This idyllic spot was a popular retreat for rest and relaxation among wealthy citizens and so, concerned for his patient’s deteriorating mental and physical wellbeing, Dr Johann Schmidt had advised the composer to seek peace and quiet there for a few months. The main source of Beethoven’s angst was the loss of his hearing, something he had started to notice in 1796 at the age of just 25. As the condition worsened, he became increasingly alarmed, revealing his anxieties in his letters to close friends. Writing to physician Franz Wegler in November 1801, he despaired he was ‘forced to appear a misanthrope’ due to the torment it…

This month, composer Max Richter and fellow musicians will be performing his colossal work Sleep in an overnight concert held at the Great Wall of China as part of the Beijing Music Festival. Described by the composer as ‘a manifesto for a slower pace of existence’, the performance will last from late night to early dawn with a running time of just over eight hours. Richter joins a long line of musicians who’ve gone to the wall, as it were, though most have been more interested in breaking them down than encouraging audiences to catch forty winks on them. In November 1989, Mstislav Rostropovich (above) performed the Sarabande from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 2 at Checkpoint Charlie two days after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a moment that inspired…

This month: MARTIN OUTRAM Maggini Quartet MY FINEST MOMENT Vaughan Williams Phantasy Quintet & String Quartets Maggini Quartet; Garfield Jackson (viola) Naxos 8.555300 (2001) It was a stroke of luck that we hit upon this incredibly rich seam of English music; it seems incredible now to think that, at that time, hardly anyone was playing it, particularly the Vaughan Williams. We had played the Phantasy Quintet, but we didn’t know either of the quartets. In fact, an amateur group played the G minor quartet on one of our chamber music courses, but the textures and beauty of the harmony didn’t come across. Vaughan Williams wrote it soon after he’d been studying with Ravel, in 1908, and it’s the most beautiful synthesis of what he himself called ‘French polish’, but also…

Oliver Condy Editor Hooray for the CBeebies Proms this year which enabled me to take my four year-old to her very first concert. And what a cracker it was, too. The combination of her favourite TV presenters (including Justin Fletcher and Maddie Moate) and doses of Adams, Copland and Britten left her grinning from ear to ear, and the sight of a space rocket emerging from the arena was the icing on the cake. Jeremy Pound Deputy editor Though I rarely listen to TV soundtrack albums, the death of composer Barrington Pheloung (right) has had me heading back to 1980s and ’90s Oxford in the company of The Essential Inspector Morse Collection. Pheloung was masterful at capturing in music the detective’s morose outlook and the dark shadows cast,…

Love and longing Orchestral Songs by Dvoÿák, Mahler and Ravel Magdalena Kožená (mezzo), Berlin Philharmonic/Rattle DG 479 0065 Magdalena Kožená projects the sincerity of these myriad settings magnificently, we suggested back in 2012. A beautifully crafted and performed programme. Mozart Opera and concert arias Magdalena Kožená (mezzo), Jos Van Immerseel (fortepiano), OAE/Rattle DG Archiv 477 6316 A charming and stylishly performed collection of arias from Così, Figaro, Idomeneo and more – plus the gorgeous concert aria Ch’io mi scordi di te? K505. Mahler Das Lied von der Erde Magdalena Kožená (mezzo), Stuart Skelton (tenor), Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/Rattle BR Klassik 900 172 Something of a dream team here – Ko›ená and Skelton dig deep while the Bavarian Radio Symphony lavish all with ladles of detail. Debussy Pelléas et Mélisande Christian…

‘I have a lot to introduce that I think will be interesting,’ Omer Meir Wellber told BBC Music Magazine when his appointment with the BBC Philharmonic was announced last October. ‘In Israel, we have a whole generation of immigrant composers, including Paul Ben-Haim and Noam Sheriff. When listeners hear them, they will be amazed.’ Wellber gave a glimpse of such treats when he conducted the orchestra in Ben-Haim’s First Symphony at the BBC Proms this summer – a season that also saw him wield the baton in Haydn’s The Creation – but for his opening season in Manchester, he will be treading a largely more familiar path. That said, his very first public concert as the new chief conductor, on 14 December at Bridgewater Hall, begins with a UK premiere:…

5, 12, 14, 19, 27 June & 2 July 2020 La Cenerentola A classic fairy tale. We are proud to present an entirely international cast in this much-loved dramma giocoso which fizzes with comic brilliance. 6, 11, 13, 20 & 24 June 2020 A Midsummer Night’s Dream Full of sensuality, argument, chaos and reconciliation, Britten’s music illuminates Shakespeare at his comic best. 21, 26, 28 June & 5, 12 July 2020 Manon Lescaut Manon chooses luxury over love and pays the ultimate price. She is pursued across the Atlantic by her soulmate Chevalier Des Grieux, and dies in his arms. 5-6 July 2020 My Fair Lady Since it stormed Broadway in 1956, Lerner and Loewe’s irresistible musical version of George Bernard Shaw’s social satire Pygmalion has become a monument of…

‘Celebrating the Past, Creating the Future’ is the CBSO’s motto for its 100th birthday celebrations. Music director Mirga Gražinyte -Tyla opens the season with a festival of British music from Purcell to Musgrave, and along with the CBSO family of Choruses, conducts Mahler’s massive Symphony No. 8 and Britten’s War Requiem. Alongside this is an ambitious series of new commissions from some of the boldest composers in the world today, and we’re delighted to welcome back our principal guest conductor, Kazuki Yamada, along with a stellar selection of soloists, both familiar friends and new. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS +44 (0)121 780 3333 www.cbso.co.uk…

23 October 2019 Reich/Richter Steve Reich and Gerhard Richter – two giants of contemporary culture – come together in a major new collaboration: a cinematic exploration of Richter’s intense, abstract painting 946-3. 18 November 2019  LA Phil/ Dudamel: The Rite of Spring The LA Phil and Dudamel take on Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, before Yuja Wang joins them for a John Adams premiere – a concert that shouts energy, colour and joy. 6 April 2020  Lang Lang plays the Goldberg Variations A profoundly personal project for one of the 21st century’s most influential musical personalities: Lang Lang tackles one of the most legendary keyboard works ever written.…

The festival weekend kicks off a season-long exploration of Beethoven’s timeless art, covering his instrumental and chamber works, performed by leading figures including James Ehnes, Jonathan Biss, the Belcea Quartet, Miklós Perényi and more. Brahms is also in the Wigmore Hall spotlight this season, with a programme built around the Castalian String Quartet, and study events lead by musicologist Katy Hamilton. Benjamin Britten is a focus too, with nine concerts and related Learning events, and a Britten Gala to open the Season, showcasing the decisive influence that Wigmore Hall played in Britten’s development. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS +44 (0)20 7935 2141 www.wigmore-hall.org.uk…

18 Jan – 1 Feb 2020 The Brandenburg Concertos So named because they were dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg, Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos contain some of the most sumptuous and virtuosic instrumental writing in all of his output. 26-31 March 2020 James MacMillan: Seven Last Words from the Cross Dunedin Consort unites with Scottish Ensemble to perform James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross. Combining moments of aching intensity, heart-rending beauty and raw, keening desolation. 9-10 April 2020 Bach: St Matthew Passion Kristian Bezuidenhout directs from the keyboard in Bach’s extraordinary retelling of the Passion story. A work that has the power to move and inspire us like no other.…

Founded in 1918; raised by Eduard Flipse; brought to international fame under Jean Fournet and Edo de Waart; acknowledged as world class since the Valery Gergiev and Yannick Nézet-Séguin era… In its first 100 years, the Rotterdam Philharmonic has climbed up from local hero to global player. Now, with the brilliant Lahav Shani having taken over, the orchestra has entered a new century while keeping close ties with its former chiefs. Come and meet the Rotterdam Philharmonic in their home port De Doelen and prepare to be carried away. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS +31 10 217 17 00 www.rpho.nl/eninfo@rpho.nl…

4 December 2019  Gidon Kremer and Concerto Budapest Collaborations between Concerto Budapest and Kremerata Baltica have already resulted in many memorable recitals. Gidon Kremer will be performing Schnittke’s Violin Concerto alongside maestro András Keller. 14-15 May 2020 Neeme Järvi and Anna Shelest One of the doyens of today’s conductors is Neeme Järvi. He arrives in Hungary with a special 19th-century Russian programme, and introduces pianist Anna Shelest playing Rubinstein’s Piano Concerto No. 2. 21 May 2020  Hommage à Shostakovich with Sergei Krylov The dedicatee of the Shostakovich’s 1948 Violin Concerto in A minor was David Oistrakh who referred to the solo part as a ‘Shakespearean role’. Sergei Krylov is the soloist before Shostakovich’s final symphony.…

Capella Cracoviensis performs at many important festivals and concerts halls, including the Bachfest Leipzig, Opéra Royal Versailles, Theater an der Wien and the Misteria Paschalia Festival in Krakow. Its recordings have included Pergolesi’s Adriano in Siria and Porpora’s Germanico in Germania (Decca Classics) plus Te Deums by Lully and Charpentier, and Bach Motets (Alpha). Capella Cracoviensis has staged the following operas: Amadigi di Gaula, The Marriage of Figaro, Orfeo ed Euridice, as well as Monteverdi’s madrigals performed in a milk bar and A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by children with visual impairments. In 2016, Capella Cracoviensis performed all Beethoven’s symphonies in one day. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS +48 602 620 698 www.capellacracoviensis.pl…

18-19 Sept 2019  Opening concert with Pinchas Zukerman Legendary violinist Pinchas Zukerman is a PSO Artist in Residence for the 85th season who, with violinist Amanda Forsyth, perform music by Brahms and Dvorák, complemented by Sibelius. 18-19 Dec 2019 Variations on a Christmas Theme Christmas is a time of fairytales, and tonight Jac van Steen and the PSO will perform three. The Snow Maiden by Rimsky-Korsakov, Petrushka by Stravinsky and one featuring the virtuosity of cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras. 26-27 Feb 2020 Elisabeth Leonskaja & Beethoven In 2020, the world will mark the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven. Elisabeth Leonskaja will play Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto. The unique, expressive Bruckner Symphony No. 6 provides the symphonic counterpart.…

The season builds on the orchestra’s history of collaborating with distinguished international soloists and conductors, providing a rich variety of repertoire to inspire and captivate its audience. Concert programmes will include firm favourites by Beethoven, Berlioz and Mahler as well as works by composers seldom performed in Romania, including Szymanowski and Elgar. International soloists will include pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja performing the complete Beethoven piano concertos which will be heard alongside Beethoven’s complete choral output. With visiting maestros from all over the world, concerts will be conducted by Christian Badea, Alexander Walker and Jin Wang among others. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS +40 21 315 6875 www.fge.org.ro…

4-11 October 2019 Stradun Classic The renowned Croatian clarinetist Marija Pavlovic (artist in residence) together with DSO has founded new festival with the idea to bring a top chamber music and world-class musicians to the city. 28 June – 5 July 2020  International Opera Arias Festival ‘Tino Pattiera’ The 13th edition of the festival includes some of the world's most famous opera arias as well as concert highlights from Bizet’s Carmen. 26 August – 18 September 2020 Late Summer Music Festival Dubrovnik The eighth year of this international festival brings symphony concerts, recitals and a jazz programme – overall 14 concerts at the Rector's Palace.…

‘Though I call them Mine I know they are not Mine,’ wrote William Blake of his creations. A visionary poet, painter and printmaker, Blake produced bold and mysterious works that have gone on to inspire countless musicians, from Vaughan Williams to Stockhausen to Bob Dylan. And thanks to Hubert Parry’s stirring anthem Jerusalem, Blake’s poetry is woven deep into Britain’s national consciousness. In 1935, while planning a Jubilee concert at the Royal Albert Hall, King George V reportedly declared: ‘We must have Jerusalem. If we don’t, I shall go down to the platform myself and whistle it’. Even now, over 100 years since its composition, Parry’s hymn continues to resound at weddings and funerals, on sports fields and in school halls. But Blake’s legacy in music reaches far beyond Parry’s…

BBC Ten Pieces 2019-20 Hans Zimmer Earth (BBC Ten Pieces commission) A new work that places young singers at its heart. George Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue (excerpt) Jazz and classical blend in a seminal 1924 work. Ravi Shankar Symphony, Finale (excerpt) Sitar player Ravi Shankar (above) fused Indian and Western traditions. Delia Derbyshire Doctor Who Theme The famous TV theme was realised by an electronic music pioneer. Vivaldi ‘Winter’ from The Four Seasons Vivid imagery infuses this popular violin concerto. Grazyna Bacewicz Overture The Morse code for ‘V’ for Victory appears in Bacewicz’s wartime work. Steve Reich Music for 18 Musicians (excerpt) A pioneering slice of musical minimalism. Villa-Lobos Bachianas brasileiras No. 2, Little Train of the Caipira (finale) Bach meets Brazil in a compelling orchestral suite. Florence Price Symphony…

The British conductor has worked as a guest with orchestras from Sydney to Leipzig, but at the heart of his career is his work with Gabrieli, a choir and period-instrument orchestra. After many years of recording for Deutsche Grammophon, the conductor, who initially trained as a cellist, set up his own label in 2010. The launch album, featuring Berlioz’s Grande Messe des Morts, won a BBC Music Magazine Award for technical excellence. Since then, large-scale works like Britten’s War Requiem have been alternated with more intimate projects such as the A Rose Magnificat album, which was voted Choral winner in our 2019 Awards.…

There are hundreds of fascinating frescoes in Treviso, but it’s well worth visiting the Chapter House of the Seminario, next to the towering Basilico San Nicolo, as it houses a cycle from 1352 by Tommaso da Modena. Nestled among the 40 Dominican monks and cardinals that this Italian painter has depicted is the Cardinal Hugo of Provence, with a pair of spectacles perched on his nose. It’s the first surviving portrayal in a painting of glasses. Elsewhere in the room, you can also spot Cardinal Nicholas of Rouen, using a handheld monocle lens.…

Charles Mackerras (conductor) Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Decca 478 5407 Charles Mackerras did as much as any conductor to champion Janácek and bring his operas in particular to a wider audience. In this 1980 recording with the Vienna Philharmonic, he sets out to tell a story and succeeds gloriously in doing so. Both the conductor and orchestra have this music completely under their skin There’s a mournful fluidity about the opening bars of the first movement (‘The Death of Andrei’) that takes us beyond a simple cor anglais melody above gently pulsating string chords. Mackerras paints a vivid picture of our young lover, Andrei, as he oscillates between forlorn longing and briefly discerned glimpses of hope. Instead of presenting us with a succession of musically disparate passages and hoping they’ll all…

It’s so easy to gravitate to your favourite composers and cherished recordings, isn’t it? But how many of your favourite composers are alive and kicking? As summer fades away into autumn, why not turn over a new leaf and seek out some of the living composers who are – as you read – probably labouring over crotchets and quavers… We can help, of course, and the following pages offer a fine place to start. There are concertos by Joseph Phibbs and Wynton Marsalis, the latest environmentally-conscious orchestral work by John Luther Adams, a fiery new opera by Jon Gibson and choral music by Mason Bates. Then there’s 93-year-old Hungarian composer György Kurtág; he has not one but two discs to listen to. Look out for our double review. Michael Beek…

John Luther Adams Become Desert Seattle Symphony/Ludovic Morlot Cantaloupe Music CA21148 40:22 mins (CD plus DVD) How long can a musical breath last? This one lasts 40 minutes, with no ruptures. You either listen entranced, sucked into the slowly mutating tissue of sounds; or you listen aggravated, twiddling your thumbs. There are not many other alternatives. That is the way with John Luther Adams’s ecologically-minded slabs of ‘sonic geography’, not least this successor to Become River and Become Ocean (winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for music). With global warming, our entire planet might become desert, though the score’s largely gentle aural wash, piquantly sprinkled with pings and tings, doesn’t make the prospect seem terribly alarming. Adams sustains the epic breath by gradually lowering, then raising, the music’s pitch, and…

Jon Gibson Violet Fire Scott Murphree, Marie Mascari, Solange Merdinian, Greg Purnhagen, Katie Geissinger, Peter Stewart; Violet Fire Orchestra/ Mick Rossi (piano, organ) Orange Mountain Music OMM 7018 78:03 mins (2 discs) The archetypal inventor tends to be portrayed in a rather similar way to the composer: wild-eyed, wild-haired and prone to mono-mania (think Emmett ‘Doc’ Brown in Back to the Future, or Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). The eccentricity of Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), the Serbian-American futurist, electrical engineer and hopeful creator of a groundbreaking broadcasting system, is to the fore in Violet Fire (2006), an operatic biopic by Jon Gibson. Miriam Seidel’s dream-like libretto focuses on Tesla’s regular trips to feed the pigeons, and his relationship with one bird in particular, White Dove. In this, the first…

Mason Bates Mass Transmission; Siren Music; Rag of Ragnar Isabelle Demers (organ); Mason Bates (electronics); Cappella SF/Ragnar Bohlin Delos DE 3573 54:24 mins The second most-performed living composer in America, Mason Bates is particularly celebrated for his slick and imaginative integration of electronica into orchestral works (as well as being an acclaimed dance music DJ). This collection of choral compositions follows a slightly different tack, however, placing the focus squarely on the warmth and flexibility of the human voice. Composed for 12-part a cappella chorus, Sirens (2009) explores different cultural manifestations of these mythical beings through an intriguing mix of texts, including extracts from Homer’s Odyssey, a poem from the South American Quecha people and, not uncontroversially, the ‘fishers of men’ verses from The Gospel According to Matthew. Bates’s style…

Berezovsky Ukrainian Sacred Music Vol. 1 Claudio Bohema CB4730-2 (2001) 63:39 mins There’s much to enjoy in this account of choral works by the 18th-century Ukrainian composer Berezovsky. Vidrodzhennya Chamber Choir makes an exquisite, velvety, varied sound, in a fine acoustic. ★★★★ Jussi Björling in Concert Arias and Songs Alto ALC 1397 (1951-59) 78:48 mins The irresistible sweet-toned bel canto of this Swedish tenor brings magic to a wide range of German, French and Italian repertoire. ★★★★ Christoph Prégardien sings Schumann, Wolf & Mahler Hännsler HC19006 (2005-6) 129:53 mins (2 discs) Christoph Prégardien and Michael Gees offer intelligent, compelling musicianship. More raw emotion would bring these songs to life, but still, these are polished performances. ★★★ St John’s College Choir, Cambridge Choral works by JS Bach, Britten, Bruckner, Mozart, Vaughan…

It’s surely a sign of the times when you’re relieved that only one mobile phone has gone off in a concert. Mind you, I’ve refused to let ringtones ruin my musical experience, even if there’s something ridiculous about a smartphone going off in the middle of a piece of hushed Shostakovich. From there, you might think I hate the idea of programme notes being delivered live to audience members’ mobiles (see p72). Truth is, however, that the smartphone has enhanced my enjoyment of music in more ways than I thought possible, from a clever metronome app that gives me a beats-per-minute from taps on the screen, to its audio and video capabilities that let me scrutinise my own performances. And, of course, I can stream millions of tracks at the…

Patrick Terry Countertenor Born: Janesville, Wisconsin, US Career highlight: Stepping into the role of Rosencrantz on Glyndebourne’s tour of Brett Dean’s Hamlet. I wasn’t even covering the role, so it was a challenge and a huge surprise. The day after, I was accepted on the Jette Parker Young Artist programme, so it was a pretty exciting week. Musical hero: The real heroes of classical music are people who work with music in local communities. I did a family concert with soprano and animateur Isabelle Adams and Wigmore Hall’s programme manager Ellie Cowan – those ladies are totally heroic. Dream concert: That would be a song recital at Wigmore Hall. Simone Rubino Percussionist Born: Turin, Italy Career highlight: My solo concert with the Vienna Philharmonic in Lucerne in 2016…

4th The Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa, a major patron of the arts who has commissioned works from composers including both Joseph and Michael Haydn, sings in Joseph Eibler’s Missa Sanctae Theresiae in Vienna. For his new mass, Eibler is rewarded with an ebony clock decorated with bronze and alabaster plus 300 Gulden. 9th At the age of 51, Ferdinand, Duke of Parma, dies, possibly by poison. Though the Duke was allowed to retain his title after the invasion by Napoleon’s forces in 1796, the state of Parma itself has effectively been ruled by the French since then. On his death bed, he names his wife Maria Amalia as head of the regency council, but she is expelled from Parma within a matter of days. 10th A magazine that was…

Lyapunov Rhapsody on Ukrainian Themes Hamish Milne (piano); BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Martyn Brabbins Hyperion CDA67326 Lyapunov has such a unique voice, but you can hear the influence of Liszt. The opening is so captivating, with beautiful woodwind sounds and the piano arabesqueing around them; it just draws you in immediately and you don’t want to turn it off. I really feel this should be more a part of the piano concerto repertoire; it’s a fabulous piece and, for the pianist, a big challenge. Svendsen Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A Major Lars Bjørnkjær (violin); Aarhus Symphony Orchestra/Giordano Bellincampi Danacord DAOCD662 If you’ve had too much of the Bruch and the Mendelssohn and want something fresh, but equally powerful, the Svendsen is fantastic. It’s maybe not as overtly virtuosic, but…

Will Todd Composer I’ve become slightly obsessed by the John Wilson Orchestra’s performance of Miklós Rózsa’s Ben Hur theme tune at the BBC Proms in 2013. The piece lives very much in the genre of huge symphonic film scores and is phenomenal in every respect, from the fanfares and brass writing in general to the way that, despite beginning thunderously, it still manages to keep building constantly for three-and-a-half minutes. I find myself sitting in complete awe of the orchestral timbres and compositional skill. ‘I find myself sitting in awe of Miklós Rózsa’s orchestral timbres and compositional skill’ One piece I turn to regularly is Lutoslawski’s Third Symphony. I first encountered it when I was a student, at which point I’d not heard that much non-tonal music. He’s such an…

Slowly but surely the issue of climate change is intruding even into musical life. Sometimes that intrusion can be jolting, as happened this summer when eco-activists from Extinction Rebellion protested outside the Royal Opera House. Why? Because the ROH gets sponsorship from BP. In the protesters’ eyes, that’s tantamount to endorsing the fossil-fuel industry, which they consider a major contributor to global warming and pollution. And sometimes there are gentler musical warnings, such as the recent decision by the RSPB to release a beautifully mixed recording of birdsong from 25 familiar species of birds that are now endangered – largely because of climate change and modern intensive farming. The statistics are shocking. Britain’s population of sparrows has declined by 95 per cent in 30 years, willow tits by 74 per…

6 September 2019 La bohème Carlo Rizzi conducts the Symphony Orchestra of India and soloists at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai. 13 September 2019 Hamlet Ambroise Thomas’s grand opera penetrates deep into the Prince of Denmark's mind in OPERA2DAY’s film noir-style production. 2 October 2019 Jenufa Janácek’s grim story of infanticide and redemption comes live from the National Theatre in the composer’s hometown of Brno. 25 October 2019 World Opera Day Love is a dangerous game on Bizet's birthday with Carmen from Beijing, Don Giovanni from Rome and more from around the world. 29 November 2019 The Bartered Bride Garsington Opera reimagines Smetana’s joyous celebration of Czech culture and identity in the heart of the English countryside. 19-24 March 2020 Trilogia Mozart Da Ponte La Monnaie…

The OAE’s 2019-20 season at Southbank Centre is called ‘Salvation and Damnation’, exploring questions that have resonated down the ages about faith, doubt and legacy: ‘How will I be judged?’ and ‘What will people think of me when I’m gone?’ These concerts feature music by composers from across the centuries, from Purcell to Schoenberg, with world-class artists including tenor Ian Bostridge, conductor Sir Roger Norrington and violinist Alina Ibragimova. With players performing on instruments authentic to the period in which the music was written, each concert is built upon hours of research to understand performance tradition, recreating the sound world the composers themselves would have heard. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS +44 (0)20 3879 9555 www.southbankcentre.co.uk…

26 September 2019 A Child of Our Time As war loomed in Europe, Michael Tippett took a single, brutal instance of man’s inhumanity to man, and created a plea for a better world. Idealistic, impassioned, and deeply moving. 17 October 2019 The Thrill of the New Are you bewitched, bothered or bewildered when you listen to contemporary music? Paul Rissmann will be your entertaining guide to these brave new worlds with the full CBSO. 7 November 2019 Mendelssohn’s Elijah Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah caused a worldwide sensation when it was premiered in Birmingham Town Hall in August 1846. This rip-roaring Old Testament epic is a real Birmingham classic.…

Beginning with Bach, join the ECO in a dance through time, as Baroque and Classical favourites combine with 20th/21st century reflections by Pärt, Adès, Strauss and Ravel. Christian Zacharias returns to conduct Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto from the piano and Mozart’s Oboe Concerto is performed and directed by the charismatic François Leleux. Christmas preparations begin on 1 December with the annual Messiah. Other guests include virtuoso Canadian trumpeter Paul Merkelo and the UK concerto debut of 13-year-old British violinist Leia Zhu. Performances take place at Cadogan Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Croydon’s newly-refurbished Fairfield Halls. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS +44 (0)20 8840 6565 www.englishchamberorchestra.co.uk…

13 September 2019 Britten Gala Louise Alder soprano; Christine Rice mezzo-soprano; Allan Clayton tenor; James Newby baritone; James Baillieu piano. Leading singers explore Britten’s extraordinary range as a song composer. 14 September 2019 Beethoven Festival Weekend Introduced by John Suchet and featuring concerts from Steven Isserlis, Hugo Ticciati and O/Modernt, Benjamin Appl, Alina Ibragimova and more. 15 September 2019 Beethoven Festival Weekend Introduced by Katy Hamilton and featuring concerts from Elisabeth Leonskaja, Škampa Quartet, Cédric Tiberghien, Michael Collins, Nicholas Daniel and more.…

This season, experience the beauty and talent of English National Ballet, as the Company travels around the UK with ballets that spark joy, accompanied by its full orchestra. Feel the power of English National Ballet Philharmonic’s glorious sound filling up the theatre, be amazed by the dancers’ grace and athleticism, and let it all transport you to another world. You can catch them performing in Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes and Southampton with an enchanting version of Cinderella set to Prokofiev’s dreamy score, a dramatic and gorgeous-looking pirate adventure called Le Corsaire, the Tchaikovsky classic Nutcracker and a special 70th-anniversary programme. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS www.ballet.org.uk/whats-on…

Throughout the season Chief Conductor Lahav Shani Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Mahler’s Second. Haydn, Bartók, Shostakovich, Ligeti, Abrahamsen. Brahms with Emanuel Ax, Mendelssohn with Janine Jansen, Beethoven with Lahav Shani conducting from the piano. 29 Nov & 1 Dec 2019 Sibelius Festival Beyond his famous Violin Concerto, Sibelius’s elusive music harbours myriad unfathomed treasures – waiting to be discovered in this two-day festival with Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Baiba Skride. 23 Feb 2019  Yannick Nézet-Seguin: Die Frau ohne Schatten Celebrated as the New York Metropolitan’s Opera new music director, the incredible Yannick Nézet-Séguin returns to Rotterdam for a rare concert performance of Strauss’s sumptuous opera.…

The new Cesis Concert Hall season features two annual music festivals – Cello Cesis in September and the Peteris Vasks Festival in April. The EFFE Award-winning Cello Cesis showcases superb 21st-century music. Special guests include Ashley Bathgate, Danjulo Ishizaka and young Latvian stars, the Balanas sisters. In April, composer Peteris Vasks hosts his festival: as the programme’s curator, he is present at every concert. Chamber, symphonic, choral music and dance programmes feature scores by Vasks and like-minded fellow-composers. And the season concludes with a recital by soprano Marina Rebeka in May, plus concerts by Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica in June. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS +371 6411 9921 www.cesukoncertzale.lv www.bilesuparadize.lv…

12 September 2019  HAYDN Symphonies Nos 37, 38 and 39 Part of the ‘Haydn complete symphonies 2018-2023’ project. The ensemble undertakes to perform all 108 symphonies by Haydn out of natural love for art, and as an antidote to our fractured times (St Catherine’s Church, Krakow). 15 October 2019  Moniuszko’s Halka (Vilnius version, 1848) Soloists include Natalia Rubis, Michalina Bienkiewicz, Przemys¯aw Borys, Sebastian Szumski, Marek Opaska and Przemys¯aw Ba¯ka with conductor Jan Tomasz Adamus (St Simon and St Jude Church, Prague). 7 December 2019 Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus Featuring soloists Rebecca Bottone, Marta Wryk, Joshua Ellicott and Peter Harvey. Jan Tomasz Adamus conducts. This takes place at Concertgebouw Amsterdam.…

In 2019-2020, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra welcomes a host of outstanding artists to Reykjavík’s Harpa Concert Hall, with programming ranging from Bach to Wagner to a new work, AIO › N , by composer-in-residence Anna Thorvaldsdottir. In March 2020 the ISO celebrates its 70th anniversary with a gala concert led by chief conductor designate Eva Ollikainen. Other 2019-2020 guest artists include conductors Osmo Vänskä, Hannu Lintu, and Han-Na Chang; violinists Augustin Hadelich and Vadim Gluzman; and pianist Stephen Hough. The ISO will undertake two tours this season, giving 13 concerts in Germany, Austria, and the UK. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS +354 528 50 50 www.sinfonia.issinfonia@sinfonia.is…

3, 4, 10, 11 October 2019 Opening of the Season Chief conductor Christian Badea leads two programmes featuring Romanian virtuoso musicians making their mark internationally: Dvorák’s Violin Concerto (soloist: Liviu Prunaru) and Brahms’s Symphony No. 1; Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 1 (soloist: Mihai Ritivoiu) and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2. 17-18 October 2019 Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius Conducted by the acclaimed British Elgar conductor, Alexander Walker. Featuring tenor Oliver Johnston, mezzo-soprano Aura Twarowska and bass Marius Bolos as soloists. Supported by the Elgar Society. 27-28 February 2020 Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 Charles Olivieri-Munroe leads a performance of Mahler’s epic Third with an international cast of soloists.…

This season, the Singapore Symphony continues its exploration of British Journeys in music, as part of the bicentennial of its modern founding. The music of composers such as Haydn, Bruch and Elgar are all linked to Britain. Nations and great centres of culture are the seeds for great music, inspiring composers visiting Vienna, Leipzig or London. Even in Singapore, the journey continues, with new Singaporean compositions alongside rediscoveries such as the 1915 Raffles March. Even grander is the inspiration from nature and the universe, which give rise to our presentations of The Planets, Star Wars and the film and music experience, Moonrise & Aurora. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS www.sso.org.sg…

Both a literary and visual work of art, William Blake’s extraordinary Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794) sits among his most celebrated works. The collection appeared in two phases: Blake published his Songs of Innocence in 1789 as a freestanding book of 19 illuminated poems that explore the sweetness of childhood, before five years later adding a further 26 poems titled Songs of Experience. These later poems delve into the bitterness, repression and vice that Blake felt to pervade modern society, and the combined work was hence published under the title Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. Each poem is brief and deceptively simple, echoing the singsong rhythms and rhymes of popular 18th-century children’s verse. Yet these poems are infinitely…

Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s life was irretrievably scarred by his displacement during the Second World War, and he referred to this experience as being absolutely fundamental to his creative outlook. When describing the background to a trilogy of symphonies composed during the 1980s, Weinberg declared: ‘I believe that it is my moral duty to write about the war, and about the terrible things that happened to people in our century. This, alas, was not my own choice. It was dictated by my fate, by the tragic fate of my relatives.’ Weinberg’s early ambitions were thwarted in 1939 when the Nazis invaded Poland Born 100 years ago in Warsaw, Poland, Weinberg’s initial cultural milieu was the Jewish theatre where his father worked as a violinist and composer. Demonstrating extraordinarily precocious talents as a…

Edward Gardner (conductor) Edward Gardner’s ambitious project to record all of Janácÿek’s orchestral works with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra has produced some very fine recordings, including this Taras Bulba from 2015. In a highly personal account that remains faithful to the composer’s wishes throughout, Gardner teases out many of the hidden nuances of the score while managing to make coherent sense of the work’s unconventional architecture. And hats off to the Chandos production team, who have produced one of the most full-bodied, colourful recordings currently available. (Chandos CHSA5156) François Huybrechts (conductor) Where most recordings aim to bring a sense of coherence and unity to Janácÿek’s often fragmented score, Huybrechts revels in its oddness – this 1970 recording with the London Philharmonic Orchestra makes for a refreshing alternative reading.…

Handel’s Queens Arias by Handel, Pollarolo, JA Hasse, Porpora, Orlandini, Vivaldi et al Lucy Crowe & Mary Bevan (sopranos); London Early Opera/ Bridget Cunningham Signum Classics SIGCD579 127.56 mins (2 discs) In this recording, conductor Bridget Cunningham explores the legend of Baroque star sopranos Cuzzoni and Faustina, as did Andrés Gabett in 2014. Unlike Gabett, however, Cunningham gets the Cuzzoni-Faustina story right. For centuries, music entrepreneurs have lured audiences by faking jealousy between celebrity female singers. While Handel only occasionally perpetuated this trope, Gabett based his whole programme on it. In a refreshing correction, Cunningham shows that Cuzzoni and Faustina weren’t rivals at all, but collaborative artists who complemented each other, not least when singing side by side. Lucy Crowe and Mary Bevan here recreate the two prime donne through…

The Secret Fauré II Fauré: Berceuse; Romance in B flat; Ballade in F sharp; Élégie in C minor; Masques et bergamasques; Pavane; Allegro  Axel Shacher (violin), Antoine Lederlin (cello), Oliver Schnyder (piano); Sinfonieorchester Basel/Ivor Bolton Sony 19075936402 66:35 mins Masques et bergamasques is the jewel of the programme Fauré expressed extreme aggravation at being interpreted as ‘a composer of the halflight’, where everything was vaporous and insubstantial, never deigning to reach deep into the heart of the listener. Those who felt there was something insubstantial about the man himself were astonished when, as the new director of the Paris Conservatoire in 1905, he drove a coach and horses through hallowed traditions, earning the nickname Robespierre. Ivor Bolton and his players have clearly taken his aggravation seriously and the result is…

Marsalis Violin Concerto in D; Fiddle Dance Suite for Solo Violin Nicola Benedetti (violin); Philadelphia Orchestra/ Christian Macelaru Decca 485 0013 67:06 mins Wynton Marsalis has been long recognised as as one of the world’s foremost trumpeters, working across jazz and classical music in ways that challenge cultural assumptions while being firmly rooted in tradition. He is equally passionate as a composer about ‘finding and nurturing common musical ground between differing arts and musical styles.’ His Violin Concerto in D, written for Nicola Benedetti, does just that while saluting a similarly engaged fellow virtuoso. From opening ‘Rhapsody’ to closing ‘Hootenanny’ via ‘Rondo Burlesque’ and ‘Blues’, each of the Concerto’s four movements is a tangy gumbo of diverse idioms that have in common human expression: joy, pain, sorrow, sensuality and humour…

Mozart Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) (DVD) Matthias Goerne, Mauro Peter, Albina Shagimuratova, Christiane Karg, Adam Plachetka, Maria Nazarova; Wiener Staatsopernchor; Vienna Philharmonic/ Constantinos Carydis; dir. Lydia Steier (Salzburg, 2018) C major DVD: 749708; Blu-ray: 749804 144 mins The trio from the Vienna Boys Choir carry the show Die Zauberflöte is problematic to stage. It starts like a folk tale. A fairy queen gives a portrait of her daughter to a handsome prince and sends him off to rescue her from a wicked magician. Mozart and the librettist Schikaneder then turned the wicked magician into an agent for good, and the fairy queen became a representative of evil – though unsettling ambiguities remain. Moreover, the plot is overburdened with masonic and Egyptian references, and unfolds via a gaggle of odd…

Costume drama Geoff Brown’s 15 cinematic nights out (August) brought back many pleasant memories of movies from my childhood, particularly Charlie Chan at the Opera. In his first book, A Smattering of Ignorance, Oscar Levant wrote with wit – as he always did – about composing the make-believe opera: Boris Karloff’s character sang as Mephistopheles because 20th Century Fox had clothing left over from a movie starring Lawrence Tibbett. ‘I had heard of music being written around a singer,’ recalled Levant, ‘but never for a costume.’ Years later, Boris Karloff happily remembered the ease with which he ‘sang’ in synch with the pre-recorded Italian libretto by mouthing the names of California cities: ‘Sacramento, Santa Barbara, San Diego…’. Preston Neal Jones, CA, US Let’s communicate Your Sound of Silents feature (August)…

Boys will be boys There’s a distinct lack of choral harmony in Germany, where a nine-year-old girl is taking the State and Cathedral Choir Berlin to court for gender discrimination after she was turned down at audition. The unnamed girl’s mother says that the rejection infringed her rights to equal opportunities; the all-boy choir’s directors have, in turn, responded that their decision was not based on gender. Crown Jules Jules Buckley’s diary is getting busier by the week. In our last issue, we reported how the conductor will fulfil the role of guest curator at next year’s Cheltenham Festival. Now, we also learn that he is to be appointed creative artist in association of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Buckley, who co-founded the Heritage Orchestra in 2004 and is known for…

Warner Classics has made its entire back catalogue of recordings available digitally with the relaunch of warnerclassics.com. In a move that cements the label’s commitment to classical music in the digital age, listeners with Spotify, Deezer or Apple Music accounts will be able to access its many treasures for free. The custom-built streaming player allows listeners to create and share playlists. Period vocal and instrumental group The Telling recently got into a festive mood, recording carols from the Middle Ages. The album, recorded in August at St Mary Magdalene church in Sherborne, features traditional and lesser-known European carols. The Secret Life of Carols is released by First Hand Records in December. Also scheduled for a December release is Christopher Gunning’s latest (12th) symphony on Signum Classics. The disc, which also…

In any dictionary of musical invective, you’ll find some of the most devastating zingers directed at the music of Anton Bruckner: Brahms called Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony a ‘boa-constrictor’, while Eduard Hanslick described the Third as ‘a vision of Beethoven’s Ninth trampled under the hooves of Wagner’s Valkyries’. But Gustav Dömpke takes the Brucknerian biscuit: ‘We recoil in horror before this rotting odour which rushes into our nostrils from the disharmonies of this putrefactive counterpoint…’. Why was Bruckner’s music so offensive to so much late-19th-century critical opinion? And why do the clichés about his music persist today? How is it that his defenders are just as damaging to his reputation as his critics? I love Bruckner’s music, because its combination of visionary intensity and humanist empathy changed my life when I…

Geoff Brown The album that has recently given me the most joy has been Mahan Esfahani’s recording of Bach’s early keyboard Toccatas (Hyperion). You tend to think of harpsichords as timid creatures, the sound always kept on a leash. Not here: Esfahani’s new modern instrument, inspired by 18th-century models, roars with a force and depth perfectly keyed to the power of his interpretations. Then there’s the music itself… A wonderful indulgence! Helen Wallace Janácek’s Glagolitic Mass made a dazzling opener to this year’s BBC Proms: what a privilege to hear the Royal Albert Hall organ in that extraordinary, frenzied solo before the finale explodes into its headlong descent. A bone-shaking experience. I’ve also been listening to the music of Grace Williams (above) recently, discovering her invigorating Sea Sketches (1944) for…

“If someone about Beethoven says ‘I don , ’t I want to go and hear a nice musical’, that’s fine. It’s a choice” On a train between Leipzig and Berlin, Omer Meir Wellber is talking about how, as its new principal conductor, he plans to get to know the BBC Philharmonic. He’s going to enlist the help of Joseph Haydn. ‘He’s starting to be neglected by the big orchestras,’ Wellber suggests. ‘You just don’t hear him enough. But for me he is very important. So each programme will have a Haydn symphony.’ And there’s a good reason. ‘You see who uses the bow correctly. You get to know the musicians. It will be micromanaging. And such fun.’ A conversation with him, I soon discover, has the movement of a Catherine…

October 2019, Belgium Tour Double Brahms Lorenzo Gatto and Pieter Wispelwey are brought together on stage in Brahms’s magnificent Double Concerto. October/November 2019, UK Tour Milos Performs Rodrigo International chart-topping classical guitarist Miloš Karadaglic performs Rodrigo’s world-famous Concierto de Aranjuez. November 2019, Belgium Tour Haydn, Mozart & Stravinsky The young American conductor Jonathon Heyward conducts works by two Viennese masters and a 20th-century Russian genius. 7 December 2019, Prague Le Roi David The Prague Philharmonic Choir, one of the most distinguished professional vocal ensembles in Europe, performs Honneger’s oratorio. 12 April 2020, Amsterdam Beethoven & Bruch Kristiina Poska conducts Beethoven’s most iconic work, the Fifth Symphony. Liza Ferschtman plays Bruch’s beloved Violin Concerto No. 1. May 2020, Belgium Tour Louise Farrenc Energetic, melodic, inventive and balanced – female composer Farrenc…

3 October 2019 Mendelssohn’s Elijah Mendelssohn’s magnificent story of faith, doubt and miracles. Masaaki Suzuki conducts, with soloists including tenor Brenden Gunnell and soprano Carolyn Sampson. 7 February 2020 Mozart’s Final Flourish OAE principal artist Iván Fischer conducts the three symphonies Mozart wrote in one extraordinary year towards the end of his life, as the OAE explores this remarkable creative spurt. 26 June 2020  Liszt and Wagner: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know Conductor Sir Mark Elder and pianist Stephen Hough join the OAE to perform music by the bad boys of 19th-century music. This includes Liszt’s first two piano concertos and extracts from Wagner’s operas Tristan and Isolde and Tannhäuser.…

From Baroque opera to cutting-edge contemporary artists, the Barbican season is unrivalled in its variety and quality. Pianists Lang Lang and Yuja Wang join the likes of Alison Balsom and Philip Glass in an incredible line-up of performers. An evening of music in tribute to computer pioneer Ada Lovelace and David Lang’s modern take on Beethoven’s Fidelio make up just a fraction of the new music you can hear. And a star-studded collection of visiting international orchestras, including the New York, Los Angeles and Oslo Philharmonics will leave you speechless. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS +44 (0)20 7638 8891 www.barbican.org.uk…

22 October 2019, Cadogan Hall The Joy of Bach Join ECO for a celebration of Bach, including three of his Brandenburg Concertos and the joyous cantata Jauchzet Gott, paired with Arvo Pärt’s celebrated Fratres: timeless music that converses across the centuries. 16 February 2020, Cadogan Hall Miracles of Youth – Leia Zhu plays Mendelssohn The 13-year-old British violinist Leia Zhu, who’s already astonished audiences and critics across Europe, makes her UK concerto debut with Mendelssohn’s hugely popular Violin Concerto. 18 May 2020, Queen Elizabeth Hall Time Dances: Xian Zhang conducts Strauss and Ravel Experience the timeless beauty and elusive sensuality of Adès, Strauss and Ravel in a keenly awaited ECO debut for one of the 21st century’s most dynamic conductors.…

Widely celebrated for its vivid and insightful performances and recordings, Dunedin Consort is one of the world’s leading Baroque ensembles, directed by John Butt. Its 2019-20 season sees the cornerstones of the repertoire – including the complete Brandenburgs, Bach’s St Matthew Passion, and Handel’s Messiah – sit alongside works by Tallis and Purcell, new commissions from Stuart MacRae and Nico Muhly, and music by Cecilia McDowall and James MacMillan. Each has its place in a programme that explores the dialogue between the old and the new. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS +44 (0)131 516 3718 www.dunedin-consort.org.ukinfo@dunedin-consort.org.uk…

17-19 Oct 2019, Manchester & 23-26 Oct 2019, Southampton Cinderella Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella combines magnificent sets and costumes, and surprising theatrical tricks to delight, move and astound – and all alongside Prokofiev’s beautiful score. 20-23 Nov 2019, Milton Keynes & 8-14 Jan 2020, London Le Corsaire Le Corsaire is a swashbuckling romp with gorgeous decors and costumes created by Hollywood’s Bob Ringwood, set to a romantic score played live by English National Ballet Philharmonic. 17-18 Jan 2020, London 70th-anniversary Gala Unmissable celebrations of the Company’s ground-breaking repertoire and history.…

Since 2007 the artistic director and chief conductor of the orchestra has been András Keller, the world-renowned Hungarian violinist, founder of Keller Quartet and professor of violin at London’s Guildhall School of Music. Under his leadership, the orchestra, famed for its interpretations of Bartók, Kurtág and Ligeti, has acquired an overwhelming, ever-expanding classical repertoire. Their acclaimed soloists are frequent guests of the orchestra and include Gidon Kremer, Krzysztof Penderecki, Boris Berezovsky, Heinz Holliger, Mihail Pletnev, Neeme Järvi, Isabelle Faust, Steven Isserlis and Evgeni Koroliov. The honorary president of the orchestra is György Kurtág. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS +36 30 33 00 812 www.concertobudapest.hu/eninfo@concertobudapest.hu…

9 November 2019  Asmik Grigorian, Egils Silinš and the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra Two great Baltic opera singers performing together in a concert featuring arias by Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Verdi and Puccini. 14 December 2019  Ksenija Sidorova and Avi Avital – The Passion Brilliant accordionist Ksenija Sidorova performs with Grammy-nominated virtuoso mandolinist Avi Avital. The programme features pieces by Stravinsky, Falla, Bartók and Villa-Lobos. 18 January 2020  Mis/Reading Beethoven. Hugo Ticciati and O/Modernt Orchestra creatively ‘misread’ the rich and complex reception of Beethoven’s ever-looming musical presence, breaking down barriers and taking some steps into the unknown.…

The Prague Symphony Orchestra is the official orchestra of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The orchestra is a leading Czech musical ensemble with an established and renowned international reputation. It contributes significantly to the concert scene in the Czech capital, performing in the beautiful Art Nouveau Municipal House while simultaneously promoting Czech culture abroad. Pietari Inkinen assumed the role of chief conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra in September 2015. In November, 2019 the orchestra will tour the United Kingdom. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS +420 222 002 336 www.fok.czpokladna@fok.cz…

12-17 Nov 2019  Concert tour of Germany and Austria With pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, horn soloist Radovan Vlatkovic and principal guest conductor Daníel Bjarnason, performing works by Sibelius, Grieg, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Thorvaldsdottir, and Bjarnason. 8-16 Feb 2020  Concert tour of the United Kingdom Conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier plus pianists Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Yeol Eum Son, perform works by Bizet, Ravel, Sibelius, Prokofiev and Anna Thorvaldsdottir. 27 & 29 May 2020 Wagner’s Die Walküre A semi-staged production of Die Walküre with Christine Goerke (Brünnhilde) and Olafur Sigurdarson (Wotan). A collaboration with the Icelandic Opera and the Reykjavík Arts Festival, the production is directed by Julia Burbach and features video projections by Tal Rosner.…

Celebrating its 95th anniversary in 2020, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra continues to be an important part of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the city of Dubrovnik and Croatia. Chief conductor Marc Tardue’s second season during 2019/20 includes festivals, educational programmes and family concerts – also featuring many national and international artists – plus a year-long Schubert cycle; an international conducting masterclass; the Baroque music cycle ‘Orlando Furioso’ with Dmitry Sinkovsky; and the ten-concert series ‘Dubrovnik Musical Spring’, encompassing masterpieces of the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods within the most beautiful venues in Dubrovnik. CONTACT/BUY TICKETS www.dso.hrsales@dso.hr…

17 Jan 2020 Kavakos Plays Korngold Singapore Symphony Chief Conductor designate Hans Graf returns this season, with star violinist Leonidas Kavakos playing the Korngold Concerto. 13 Feb 2020 A Farewell for Tasmin Little Singapore takes a turn in hosting Tasmin Little in her final concert season – she performs the Bruch Violin Concerto with veteran American conductor Gerard Schwarz. 23 April 2020 Cello Escapades Distinguished Chinese conductor Long Yu, recently signed to Deutsche Grammophon, directs Zhao Lin’s double concerto, featuring pipa virtuoso Wu Man and popular Singapore-based cellist Li-Wei Qin.…

“ Ernesto Lecuona’s Andalucía is one of those short, romping showpieces that’s very charming and lovely” Do you remember the first piece of classical music that really inspired you as a child? Perhaps you were swept away by Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, or maybe it was the colourful world of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf that captured your imagination. Then again, it could have been one of the many pieces written specifically for children and teenagers, even though, arguably, they appeal just as much to adults – Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, for instance, or Ravel’s Mother Goose. Was it a recording or a concert that you heard, or a piece that you learned to play yourself? Whatever the circumstances, many of us remember that initial life-changing encounter…

Timeless traditions are often modern inventions. The coronation of Edward VII in 1902, with its spectacular ceremony, grand marches and spine-stiffening choral music, reflected myths of Britain’s heroic past and glorious present. It contained freshly commissioned works by, among others, Elgar and Sullivan, anthems and amens by Purcell, Tallis and Gibbons, ‘ancient Plain-song’ and Handel’s Zadok the Priest . And it marked a break with the ramshackle coronations of William IV and Victoria: the latter, observes historian David Cannadine, ‘was completely unrehearsed; the clergy lost their place in the order of service; the choir was pitifully inadequate; the Archbishop of Canterbury put the ring on a finger that was too big for it; and two of the trainbearers talked throughout the entire ceremony.’ Edward’s coronation set the benchmark for royal…

If you’re tired of tourist hordes, torrents of daytrippers and the cruise-ship commercialisation of Venice, then hop down the road to Treviso. Not the eponymous airport, but the beautiful city in the Veneto province. Here, far from the madding crowds, it’s possible to savour a more laidback, authentic slice of Italian life. Sauntering the serene streets encircled by medieval walls and threaded through by narrow canals dotted with waterwheels and small bridges, the hurly-burly of Venice fades in the memory. Treviso isn’t a big place – 85,000 residents at the last count – but it packs a cultural punch. In just one day, on foot, it’s possible to see historic and artistic treasures that thousands would jostle to photograph in busier cities. Beautifully restored 13th-century frescoes adorn the exteriors of…

Jewish music Weinberg often made stylistic allusions to his Jewish heritage. References to Klezmer abound in high-spirited movements like the Fourth Symphony’s finale. In stark contrast, melancholic laments appear in slower more reflective passages. Equally characteristic is his fondness for the solo clarinet and violin in his orchestral works. The Shostakovich impact Weinberg was candid in declaring his indebtedness to Shostakovich (pictured above), but it’s fully absorbed into a highly personal lyrical style. There is also strong evidence that the Jewish element in Weinberg’s music had a profound impact on expanding Shostakovich’s own expressive horizons. Structural concepts In his earlier chamber and orchestral works, Weinberg largely adopted Classical sonata and rondo forms. His later works are more open-ended and elliptical, and he explored extended one-movement compositions divided into several contrasting…

Born in 1854 in Moravia, Janácÿek studied in Prague, Leipzig and Vienna before forging his career in Brno, where he was director of the organ school. He didn’t begin composing in earnest until the 1880s and, even then, took a while to enjoy any sort of acclaim – his opera Jenufa, today considered one of his finest works, met with a lukewarm reception at its premiere in 1904. The last years of his life, however, brought both romance and a flurry of late masterpieces, including his Sinfonietta, the Intimate Letters string quartet and the opera The Cunning Little Vixen.…

What was it about the sopranos Cuzzoni and Faustina that so inspired composers? They were incredibly versatile and rose to the challenge, despite what was going on around them – this huge furore about rivalry, all the names that they were called and the difficult lives they led. They always performed incredibly well and you can see this in the arias, and the way that Handel wrote for them; he gave them different challenges on the way. You can see the developments throughout the operas, which is intriguing. How did the idea of their rivalry come about? It was the London press, which was quite a phenomenon. They had already performed together in Italy – it was normal to have two sopranos, a pair of prime donne. But in London…

Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio espagnol; Scheherazade Eloquence 482 9378 (1962) 57:49 mins Igor Markevitch and the LSO’s virtuosic Capriccio espagnol is breathtaking. Sheherazade – impulsive, theatrical and seductive – is equally compelling. ★★★★★ Shostakovich Symphony No. 7 (Leningrad)  Vanguard Classics OVC-1030 (1953) 72:37 mins Yevgeny Mravinsky’s interpretation of the Leningrad remains unrivalled in its emotional intensity and structural lucidity. This re-mastering breathes new life into the sonically-limited recording. ★★★★★ Bernard Haitink The Early Years: works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn & Andriessen Eloquence 482 8627 (1960-63) 70:24 mins Bernard Haitink’s rhythmically-dynamic Beethoven Eight and an invigorating Mendelssohn Italian display the musical virtues typical of his recordings. ★★★★ Jean Fournet The Concertgebouw Recordings: works by Musorgsky, Chabrier & Debussy Eloquence 482 4959 (1957/59) 79:28 mins Jean Fournet and the Concertgebouw offer idiomatic accounts of the…

The Four Seasons Recomposed Max Richter: The Four Seasons Recomposed; Vasks: Lonely Angel; Arvo Pärt: Fratres Fenella Humphreys (violin); Covent Garden Sinfonia/ Ben Palmer Humphreys mines the repetitive melodies for subtleties of colour Rubicon RCD1015 63:40 mins ‘Recomposing’– or ‘reimagining’ as it is also known – is an increasingly popular compositional style that sees original works spliced and melded together with new material. Max Richter’s version of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (2012) is a pioneering example of this idiom, yet until now the only recorded version that existed was Richter’s own, produced in collaboration with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and violinist Daniel Hope (Deutsche Grammophon, 2012). Fenella Humphreys’s interpretation is a welcome addition to the work’s discography. Humphreys’s previous Bach 2 the Future albums demonstrated her ability to combine traditional and contemporary…

Principally a flautist and saxophone player, Jon Gibson studied in California where he also began composing. Around the same time, he participated in the 1964 world premiere of Terry Riley’s In C and went on to perform in the premiere of Steve Reich’s Drumming – indeed, Reich later wrote Reed Phase with Gibson in mind. Establishing himself firmly in New York’s minimalist melting pot, Gibson performed briefly with La Monte Young’s Theatre of Eternal Music and became a founding member of the Philip Glass Ensemble in 1968. He plays with the group to this day.…

An American Song Album Barber: Hermit Songs; Copland: Four Early Songs; Carlisle Floyd: The Mystery; Getty: Goodbye Mr Chips – Kathy’s Aria; Three Welsh Songs, etc. Heggie: These Strangers; How Well I Knew the Light Melody Moore (soprano), Bradley Moore (piano) Pentatone PTC 5186 770 (hybrid CD/SACD) 82:38 mins Melody Moore’s operatic experience is effectively harnessed The American soprano Melody Moore has Strauss’s Salome and Wagner’s Senta in her repertoire, and a voice more naturally scaled to opera than to art song. Yet her operatic experience is harnessed to telling effect in ‘At Saint Patrick’s Purgatory’, from the Samuel Barber Hermit Songs which open this recital. In lock-step with her outstanding accompanist Bradley Moore (no relation) she catches grippingly the upwelling of anxiety expressed in the medieval Irish writer’s words…

JS Bach French Suite in G, BWV 816; Chorale Preludes – Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter, BWV 650; Ach Gott un Herr, BWV 692; Woll soll ich fliehen hin, BWV 646; Italian Concerto, BWV 971; Viola da Gamba Sonata No. 2 in D, BWV1028, etc Cellini Consort Ramée RAM 1911 65:44 mins The title of this album, ‘Wo soll ich fliehen hin?’ (Where shallIflyto?), is the first line of a 17th-century Lutheran hymn. There is, though, not a single vocal item on the disc, its title, in this instance suggesting a departure from Bach’s intentions. In short, this is a programme of arrangements and transcriptions for three viols of varying sizes. Some come across more persuasively than others but all, to a varying extent, is redeemed by the…