Emotional extremes from the Belcea Quartet and Antoine Tamestit at Wigmore Hall

© Marco Borggreve

Belcea Quartet
Corina Belcea (violin)
Axel Schacher (violin)
Krzysztof Chorzelski (viola)
Antoine Lederlin (cello)

Antoine Tamestit (viola)

Tuesday 12 June 2018


Wigmore Hall, London

★★★★★

Mozart: String Quintet in C major, K515

Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110

Brahms: String Quintet in G major, Op. 111

Mozart: 

© José Lavezzi

'Antoine Lederlin (cello) proclaimed his arpeggio with presence, whilst Corina Belcea (first violin) responded with subtle sweetness'.

'This attention to the individual character of Mozart’s lines (made) this performance immediately stand out'.

Shostakovich:
'A truly bleak and unsettling performance, stripping away any veneer of safety its relative popularity might bring'.

Brahms:
'Tamestit made the melody sing, and Chorzelski on second viola, provided sympathetic support'.

'After the existential despair of the Shostakovich, this was a reassuring and life-affirming end to the evening'.


Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia: no fireworks, just the joy of music-making

Vladimir Ashkenazy

Vladimir Ashkenazy (conductor)
Veronika Eberle (violin)
Antoine Tamestit (viola)

Philharmonia Orchestra

Thursday 16 March, 2017

Royal Festival Hall, London

★★★★

Veronika Eberle (© Marco Borggreve)

Schubert: Rosamund, Princess of Cyprus: Overture

Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola in E flat major, K364 (K320d)

Elgar: Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 55


'There were no fireworks, no empty gestures, but with low-key style .... he presented intelligent and engaging readings of three contrasting works'.

Mozart:
'a performance with great elegance and beauty'.

Antoine Tamestit (© Jose Lavezzi)

Elgar:
(Adagio): 'Ashkenazy presented a reading that was touching and almost fragile at times'.

'The effect was suitably exhilarating, concluding a thoroughly engaging and lively performance'.



Read my full review on Backtrack here.