Exciting Bacewicz and Lutosławski from Taadaki Otaka and the BBC NOW

Tadaaki Otaka conducts
the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
© BBC/Mark Allan

Vadym Kholodenko (piano)

BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Tadaaki Otaka (conductor)

BBC Proms
7.30pm, Wednesday 30 July, 2025
Royal Albert Hall, London

★★★

Bacewicz, Grażyna (1909-1969): Concerto for String Orchestra
Rachmaninov, Sergey (1873-1943): Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op.18
Encore: Rachmaninov: Polka de W. R. (transcription of Behr, Franz (1837-1898): Scherzpolka)
Lutosławski, Witold (1913-1994): Concerto for Orchestra

Vadym Kholodenko &
the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
© BBC/Mark Allan

Bacewicz:
'They then danced through the finale with tight ensemble, Otaka upping the energy as they drove via glistening trilling to a decisive conclusion'.

Rachmaninov:
'There was no doubting Kholodenko’s technical command, with real delicacy in the quieter solo moments and impressive flourishes at the most virtuosic moments'.

'The triumphant conclusion was greatly received in the hall, as was Kholodenko’s spidery and playful delivery of Rachmaninov’s Polka de W.R. as encore'.

Lutosławski:
'The driving, almost warlike tutti throbbed right up to the unison high note, before surging in waves, bringing the evening’s first real moments of excitement'.

'Successive presentations of the hymn-like tune were deftly decorated, woodwinds and solo string quartet alike, and the brass delivered the final slow chorale over racing strings, bringing the evening to a breathless and exciting conclusion'. 

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra launch their 101st season

Elena Urioste, BPO season brochure

After an extremely successful 100^th season, the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra have revealed their plans for their 101^st, and Music Director Joanna MacGregor is not taking her foot off the pedal, with another exciting and varied programme revealed.  

Big names this season include tenor Mark Padmore, cellist Guy Johnston and violinist Elena Urioste. Pianist Junyan Chen (runner up at last year’s Leeds International Piano Competition, also coming away with two other prizes, including the chamber music prize) and Nigerian-Scottish trumpeter Aaron Azunda Akugbo also feature, as well as Lativan accordionist Alise Siliņa. And percussion, so much a feature now of BPO’s programmes, forms the centrepiece of the season’s final concert, with a new work for Brazilian percussion and piano, to be written by MacGregor, and performed by Brazilian percussionist Adriano Adewale and MacGregor on piano. Leader Ruth Rogers also gets a chance to shine as a soloist, along with Romanian violist Sacha Bota, and actor Alistair McGowan returns for the BPO’s popular version of A Christmas Carol.
 

Junyan Chen

And so to the music. The season kicks off with Junyan Chen playing Rachmaninov’s mighty Piano Concerto No. 3, and this sits alongside two great ballet scores, Ravel’s wild La Valse and Bartók’s equally outrageous The Miraculous Mandarin Suite - the ballet was banned in Germany after its 1926 Cologne premiere (2.45pm, Sunday 28 September, Brighton Dome).
 

Ben Gernon

Joanna MacGregor has repeatedly demonstrated her commitment to bringing rarer and more unusual repertoire to the BPO’s programmes, whilst also managing to show that they don’t neglect core repertoire. Last year, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Stravinsky sat alongside MacMillan, Schnittke and Gwylim Simcock, and of course, who could forget their barnstorming performance of Messaien’s Turangalîla Symphony? But I’m not sure when I last heard the BPO perform Mahler, so it’s great to see his Symphony No. 5 on the schedule, with Ben Gernon conducting, alongside a luscious gem, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Violin Concerto, played by one of the work’s great advocates, Elena Urioste (2.45pm, Sunday 19 October, Brighton Dome).
 

Mark Padmore
© Marco Borggreve

The strings of the BPO are at the heart of their next concert, with tenor Mark Padmore and the BPO’s Principal horn, Alexei Watkins joining them for Britten’s wonderful Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. There’s more Britten, with his Young Apollo, a radiant work for piano, string quartet and strings, and also Britten’s arrangement for string quartet and string orchestra of Purcell’s Chacony in G minor. MacGregor is then the arranger, this time of Dowland for Mr Dowland’s Midnight, and the concert ends with James MacMillan’s Piano Concerto No. 2, a work full of Scottish folk music influences, with a wild, anarchic ceilidh to finish (7.30pm, Saturday 8 November, Brighton Corn Exchange).
 

Alise Siliņa

December brings two Christmas themed events. The first unusually puts a solo accordionist, Alise Siliņa centre stage, in Václav Torjan’s Fairy Tales: A Concerto for Accordion, which draws on Czech fairy tale characters for its three movements. Ukranian composer Thomas de Hartmann fled from the Nazis to Paris, and it was there that he composed his orchestral work, Koliadky (Noëls ukrainiens, or Ukrainian Christmas Carols). The concert opens with Delius’ rarely performed Eventyr (Once upon a Time), evoking Norway’s folk tales, mythical beasts and landscapes, and they end with the Christmas classic, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite (2.45pm, Sunday 7 December, Brighton Dome). Then, as mentioned above, Alistair McGowan returns, joined by MacGregor and the BPO Brass Quintet for Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, directed by Richard Williams. And this year, they are taking the show to Petworth and Lewes, as well as giving two performances in Brighton (18, 19 & 20 December, St George’s Church Kemptown, St Mary’s Church Petworth & St Anne’s Church Lewes).
 

Aaron Azunda Akugbo

They usher in 2026 with classic, infectiously minimalist Michael Nyman film scores, The Draughtman’s Contract and Prospero’s Books, set alongside Wynton Marsalis’ Trumpet Concerto, which combines jazz with blues and classical trumpet styles in a virtuosic whirlwind, a great showcase for the young trumpeter Aaron Azunda Akugbo (7.30pm, Saturday 24 January, Brighton Dome).
 
Once again combining core repertoire with the lesser known, Mozart’s glorious Sinfonia Concertante, with Ruth Rogers (violin) and Sascha Bota (viola), and the Piano Concerto No. 20, with Joanna MacGregor at the piano, are separated by Lonely Angel: Meditation for violin and strings, by Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks. They open with Bartók’s distinctive Romanian Folk Dances, a short suite of piano pieces that Bartók then orchestrated for strings (2.45pm, Sunday 22 February, Brighton Dome).
 

Guy Johnston
© Frances Marshall

John Tavener’s masterpiece, The Protecting Veil is the highlight of their next concert, with cellist Guy Johnston the soloist. The work combines moments of joyful ecstasy with soulful contemplation, and is a real tour de force for the soloist. Before that, Ruth Rogers (violin) is the soloist in Spring and Winter from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, coupled with Max Richter’s mesmerising take on the movements, from his hit work. Vivaldi Recomposed. And another homage from one composer to another, Vaughan Williams’ richly evocative Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, opens this concert (2.45pm, Sunday 29 March, Brighton Dome).
 

Adriano Adewale

Sounds of Brazil will bring the season to a close, with an eclectic programme, including that new Concerto for Brazilian Percussion and Piano by MacGregor, with soloist Adriano Adewale. This will follow on from Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, a firm favourite to show off all sections of the orchestra. I’m not sure how the Russian witches of Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, or the puppets of Stravinsky’s Scenes from Petrushka (or the Britten for that matter) fit in with a Brazilian theme, but this will nevertheless no doubt be a lively, joyful programme to end the 101^st season.
 
Also worth a mention is an exciting new collaboration with Brighton College to take chamber music to younger audiences, with three recitals, each preceded by short masterclasses for students in the afternoons. Concerts include music by Glass, Rameau, Liszt, Haydn, Dvořák and Piazzolla, with Joanna MacGregor being joined by principal string players, and soloists Adriano Adewale and cellist Adrian Brendel (7pm, 10 September, 25 February & 15 April, Brighton College).
 
With low income concessions and tickets from £10 for all under 30s, as well as last-minute offers for first-time bookers. Details of all concerts and tickets at brightonphil.org.uk and brightondome.org.

Joyful energy from Rachel Podger and The Mozartists at Wigmore Hall

Rachel Podger, Ian Page & The Mozartists
© The Mozartists

Rachel Podger (violin)

The Mozartists

Ian Page (conductor)

7.30pm, Wednesday 18 June, 2025

Wigmore Hall, London

★★★★★

Haydn, Franz Joseph (1732-1809): Symphony No. 66 in B flat major

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791): 

Violin Concerto No. 2 in D major, K211

Symphony in D major, K196+121(207a)

Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, 'Turkish', K219

Haydn:

'Racing violins and rasping horns, and a bounce in Page’s step showed they meant business'.

Rachel Podger
© Nick Boston

Mozart:

Violin Concerto No. 2:

'The Second Violin Concerto opened with a jolly Allegro, Podger’s face radiating pleasure, her solo line singing above the orchestral texture'.

Symphony:

'Delightful, with nimble violins and robust woodwinds, all over in a flash'.

Violin Concerto No. 5:

'When they reached the “alla turca” section, they were all having great fun. Podger enjoyed the surging waves, taking Page and the orchestra with her, whilst the cellos and double bass added percussive slaps'.

Rachel Podger, Ian Page & The Mozartists
© Nick Boston

'A joyous evening, with incisive and energetic playing throughout'. 

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Glyndebourne's Saul still packs a punch 10 years on

Iestyn Davies (David) and the Glyndebourne Chorus
© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photography by ASH

Jonathan Cohen (Conductor)

Barrie Kosky (Director)

Donna Stirrup (Revival Director)

Katrin Lea Tag (Designer)

Otto Pichler (Choreographer)

Merry Holden (Revival Choreographer)

Joachim Klein (Lighting Designer)

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Matthew Truscott (Leader)

Matthew Fletcher (Solo organ)

The Glyndebourne Chorus

Aidan Oliver (Chorus Director)

Sarah Brady (Merab)

Soraya Mafi (Michal)

Christopher Purves (Saul, Apparition of Samuel)

Iestyn Davies (David)

Linard Vrielink (Jonathan)

Liam Bonthrone (Abner, High Priest, Doeg, Amalekite)

Ru Charlesworth (Witch of Endor)

Lucy Alderman, Robin Gladwin, Lukas Hunt, Dominic Rocca, Nathan Ryles, Daisy West (Dancers)

Christopher Purves (Saul) & Linard Vrielink (Jonathan)
© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photography by ASH

4pm, Sunday 8 June, 2025

Glyndebourne Opera House, Glyndebourne 

★★★★★

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759): Saul, HWV53

(Libretto by Charles Jennens (1700-1773)

'A decade on, it’s looking as fresh as a daisy'.

'Purves’ physical fitness is also impressive, managing to run in circles around the whole stage at one point, before delivering faultlessly controlled and effortless singing'.

Iestyn Davies:

'Right from his extended first entry on a gloriously blossoming "O", it was clear that his voice and presence matched that of Purves'.

Christopher Purves (Saul) & Ru Charlesworth (Witch of Endor)
© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photography by ASH

'The chorus were on tremendous form, and ... they clambered up and down from high tables, played dead on the battlefield, rising up briefly like zombies, and dramatically delivered choruses from the very front of the stage at full throttle'. 

'Jonathan Cohen conducted the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with tight energy throughout, and moments for harp, organ and carillon shone through (hats off to the spinning organist (Matthew Fletcher) at the opening of Part 2)'.

'A visual and musical delight, and it hasn’t lost its impact and energetic spark in the intervening ten years'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Iestyn Davies (David)
© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photography by ASH

A golden Turangalîla-Symphonie to celebrate the Brighton Philharmonic's centenary

The Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra
© Frances Marshall

Joanna MacGregor (conductor)

Joseph Havlat (piano)

Cynthia Millar (ondes martenot)

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

Ruth Rogers (leader)

2.45pm, Sunday 13 April 2025

Brighton Dome Concert Hall

★★★★

Olivier Messaien (1908-1992): Turangalîla-Symphonie

'The percussion section (today some nine players strong, in addition to celesta and keyed glockenspiel players) has featured prominently throughout the season; they gave an assured and confident response to Messaien’s heavy demands'.

'Here the orchestra delivered a truly massive sound, and although not every onset of the huge tutti chords was perfectly clean, they ended with lush waves of warmth and celebration'. 

Joanna MacGregor conducts the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra
© Frances Marshall

'Havlat was astonishing in the various piano cadenzas, thundering through the virtuosic flourishes in the fifth movement especially'.

'Millar was a constant secure presence, with the eery slides and otherworldly melodies emerging from the ondes Martenot'. 

'This was a triumph of ambition and commitment, and MacGregor, Millar, Havlat and all the BPO players deserve high praise for pulling off this vast endeavour to end their centenary season'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Fantasias for Piano - Martin Cousin presents some unexpected treats, performed with effortless and expressive virtuosity

The Fantasia is a form that has been used by many composers since the sixteenth century, and has its roots in a sense of improvisation. There are therefore many choices a pianist could make when forming a programme around the genre, but pianist Martin Cousin has certainly taken us down an unexpected path on his latest recording. He begins with Kenneth Leighton’s (1929-1988) Fantasia Contrappuntistica, Op. 24, not a well-known work, but one of great interest across its five linked sections. From a majestic opening Maestoso, it quickly moves to a virtuosic, even wild Toccata, full of angular lines, and ending with pealing bells before dying away. This leads into a lugubrious Chorale, beginning in intense lower registers of the instrument, before working its way steadily upwards, the hymn-like line threading through the chordal textures. The work ends with not one but two fugues, the first darkly jerky, developing into constant, running movement, and the second races on faster, before returning to the dramatic maestoso mood of the opening briefly to end the work. Cousin’s playing is clearly articulated, and he contrasts well the almost intellectual starkness of the fugal writing with the more dramatic chordal textures. The mood of Lawrence Rose’s (b. 1943) Piano Fantasia, Op. 24 (dedicated to Cousin) that follows is not dissimilar, its six movements embracing angular, fugal writing within a constantly shifting chromatic soundworld. But there is perhaps a broader range of styles here, from the almost whimsical, light opening to the weightier, almost Brahmsian variations in the Largo, and the bouncier, almost quirky conclusion to the fourth movement Allegro. Cousin drives through the rhythmic, Bach-like second movement  Allegro, with tight articulation of the angular lines, and his rapid finger work high up the keyboard in the second Allegro is highly impressive, as is the tender Andante in the final movement. From there, we jump into a completely different world, with Rachmaninov’s (1873-1943) five Morceaux de Fantasia, Op. 3. Cousin now relishes the thicker, more sustained textures, yet still gives the opening Elégie a singing, swinging lilt, to contrast with the more passionate movement of the central section. His energy at the conclusion is thrilling, as is the fiery central section of the famous Prélude that follows. The Mélodie’s melodic line is initially slightly on the heavy side, but he builds the texture well, and the Polichinelle is great fun, with orchestral textures and impressive virtuosity. The Sérénade that ends the set certainly has a mediterranean feel to its rich, swinging waltz, which provides a perfect link to the final work on the disc, Manuel de Falla’s (1876-1946) Fantasia Baetica. It was dedicated to Artur Rubenstein, but apparently he abandoned it after playing it a few times, deeming it too long and not playable enough. However, Cousin makes a strong case for it here, and what it lacks in melodic line, it makes up for with imaginative textures, from the guitar-like opening, through harp-like glissandi to more percussive repeated note patterns and weighty statements. There are plenty of cascading, dramatic flourishes, certainly evoking that improvisatory sense of a fantasia, and its insistent, hammering repetition builds via more watery glissandi and limpid clustered chords to an astonishingly virtuosic conclusion. Cousin takes us a long way from the more inwardly intellectual world of the Leighton and the almost Shostakovich-like Rose, via richly expressive Rachmaninov to the wildly expansive de Falla, all the while demonstrating effortless command virtuosity in the highly varied styles. 

Various. 2025. Fantasias for Piano. Martin Cousin. Compact Disc/Download. Convivium Records CR103.

Convincing MacMillan from Benedetti contrasts with Noseda's full-on Shostakovich

Nicola Benedetti & the London Symphony Orchestra
© LSO/Mark Allan

Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)

Nicola Benedetti (violin)

London Symphony Orchestra

7pm, Thursday 3 April 2025

Barbican Hall, London

★★★★

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Festive Overture, Op. 96

James MacMillan (b.1959): Violin Concerto No. 2

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 12 in D minor, Op. 112, 'The Year 1917'

Festive Overture:

'Noseda took the LSO through a tight and spirited rendition, with strong articulation from the strings in particular'.

Gianandrea Noseda conducts the London Symphony Orchestra
© LSO/Mark Allan

MacMillan:

'There’s a particularly aggressive central solo, where Benedetti didn’t hold back on, producing lots of extra ‘noise’ from the bow and wood of the instrument, and she also mesmerised with rapid minimalist repetitions, as well as rising trills at the opening'.

'... towards the end MacMillan’s master stroke, a series of duets between the soloist and different instruments, started playfully with the double bass and ended with a sweet duet with the leader'.

Symphony No. 12:

'There was a relentlessness to the sheer intensity and volume here, but Noseda and the orchestra kept us with them by fully exploiting the moments of ‘downtime’, few and far between though they are'.

'That full-on finish, a feat of stamina for all involved, was indeed electric, but within that, Noseda still managed to shape some of the final surges, almost running forward to the edge of the podium and back'. 

Read my review on Bachtrack here.