Category: Opinion
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Dani Howard’s ‘Coalescence’ premiered by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Cracking concert opener from Dani Howard. Liking the combined live stream and R3 broadcast on RLPO Facebook.
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London Mozart Players at Fairfield Halls Gala Opening
If we want to see an illustration of how classical music brings a diverse community together, this is a good place to start.
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BBC Proms 2019 – 15: Season End
The inevitable end of season retrospective. Highs, lows, goods and bads, plus a deeper understanding of where in the BBC Proms ecosystem I fit.
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BBC Proms 2019 – 14: Dunedin Consort, Vienna Philharmonic and Aurora’s Symphonie fantastique
My final listening instalment has got me closer to the experience I recall of the Proms from my ‘olden days’. A mixture of live, audio catch-up and TV broadcast has, in the final week, finally made good on the season. Dunedin Consort first. Full disclosure: school pal was on stage playing so my usual objectivity…
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BBC Proms 2019 – 11: Sheku’s Elgar Cello Concerto and Dieter Amman’s Piano Concerto
The crazy perfection of Dieter Ammann’s piano concerto, Sheku’s much-heralded performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto, and what happened when I bumped into a Proms commentator
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BBC Proms 2019 – 10: Ulster Orchestra play Clara Schumann Piano Concerto, Beethoven 1, Shostakovich 1 and Sofia Gubaidulina
Some sloppy moments in the first movement of the Beethoven; warm colours and seductive shapes in the second; spirit in the third; slightly underpowered in the fourth. First and second violins don’t work well – cues lack clarity. Firsts particularly undisciplined in places. Clara Schumann Piano Concerto. Not quite sure whether this was worthy of…
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BBC Proms 2019 – 9: Mendelssohn, Elgar, Errollyn Wallen, and Mussorgsky at the Royal Albert Hall
It’s a toss up between finding the ideal spot in the Royal Albert Hall or holding your nose and listening to the live broadcast. After my first visit to the Royal Albert Hall, I think its probably the latter.
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BBC Proms 2019 / 8: Stop banging on
Please give the listening audience the chance to reflect on what they’ve just heard and what it means to them, instead of resorting to hype, sycophancy, or post-performance reviews
