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.

Bach sheds light in a impressively dark outing from the Australian Chamber Orchestra

The Australian Chamber Orchestra at the Barbican
© Mark Allan/Barbican

Alexander Melnikov (piano)

Jeroen Berwaerts (trumpet)

Australian Chamber Orchestra

Richard Tognetti (director)

7.30pm, Friday 21 March 2025

Barbican Hall, London

★★★★

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1850): The Musical Offering, BWV1079: Ricercar a 6 (arr. Richard Tognetti (b.1965)

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto no. 3 in G major, BWV1048

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Piano Concerto no. 1 in C minor for piano, trumpet and string orchestra, Op.35

Encore:

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963): Sonata for Trumpet & Piano, 3rd movement, extract

Sofia Gubaidulina (1931-2025): Reflections on the theme B-A-C-H, for string quartet (arr. for strings)

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Chamber Symphony in C minor, Op.110a (arr. Rudolf Barshai (1924-2010))

Encore:

Thomas Adès (b.1971): Arcadiana, Op.12 No.6: Albion

Jeroen Berwaerts & the ACO
© Mark Allan/BarbicanBach:Bach:

Bach:

'The Third Brandenburg Concerto had lively pace, brightness and understated dynamics, allowing for joyful interplay of solo lines'. 

Shostakovich:

'All concerned certainly delivered excitement, but also the darker uncertainty that lurks beneath its surface frivolity'.

Hindemith:

'Berwaerts delivered Hindemith’s drawn-out setting with stately solemnity and impressive control, over strangely lilting piano rhythms from Melnikov'.

Gubaidulina:

'The ACO ratcheted it up with searing intensity to a screeching climax, with eery glissandi peppering the route along the way'. 

Alexander Melnikov
© Mark Allan/Barbican

Shostakovich:

'The ensemble here brought intensity and commitment, and the second movement’s wild dance was indeed disturbing'. 

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Highly individual Mozart from Buniatishvili

Khatia Buniatishvili
© Esther Haase

Khatia Buniatishvili (piano)

Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Benjamin Marquise Gilmore (director) 

7.30pm, Monday 9 December 2024

Barbican Hall, London

★★★

Khatia Buniatishvili
& the Academy of St Martin in the Fields
© Nick Boston

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Don Giovanni, K527, Overture 

                                                                  Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K488

Encore:

Claude Debussy (1862-1918): Suite bergamasque, L75, No. 3, Clair de lune

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847): Overture in B minor, Op. 26, 'The Hebrides'

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): Symphony No. 104 in D major, H I:104

Encore:

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957): Belshazzar's Feast Suite, Op. 51, No. 2 Nocturne

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23:

'Buniatishvili’s Mozart was somewhat mystifying, and certainly very individual'. 

'The sound was not without beauty, with some very quiet playing too, but her soft-focussed over-pedalling in solos was completely at odds with the articulation produced when with the orchestra, almost like there were two different soloists at times'. 

Benjamin Marquise Gilmore
& the Academy of St Martin in the Fields
© Nick Boston

Mendelssohn:

'Barely needing direction, the ASMF performed with a chamber feel, maintaining the pulse instinctively'.

Haydn:

'Dynamic contrasts, energy flowing from Gilmore to the orchestra, and precise, confident solos from all sections injected lively spirit throughout'.

Sibelius:

'The star of the show here was definitely the haunting tone of (Michael) Cox, a delightful end to an evening of strong performances from the ASMF'. 

Read my full review on Bachtrack here. 

Evocative Beamish and commanding Prokofiev from Noseda and the LSO

Sally Beamish, Martin Fröst, Janine Jansen & Gianandrea Noseda
© Mark Allan

Janine Jansen (violin)

Martin Fröst (clarinet)

London Symphony Orchestra

Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)

7pm, Thursday 20 June 2024

Barbican Hall, London

★★★★

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Overture: Leonore No. 3, Op. 72b

Sally Beamish (b.1956): Distans: Double Concerto for Violin & Clarinet

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953): Symphony No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 131

Martin Fröst, Janine Janse & Gianandrea Noseda
© Mark Allan

Beethoven:

'Lively woodwind and precise skittering strings demonstrated the LSO’s expert ensemble'.

Beamish:

'Following more virtuosic skirmishes from the highly mobile and animated soloists, and droning strings evoking the nyckelharpa, complex, jerky rhythms abounded, with Noseda keeping a tight rein'. 

'The highly expansive second movement conjured up open landscape, distance and longing, with birdlike flourishes from the soloists and bell-like percussion'.

Gianandrea Noseda conducts the LSO
© Mark Allan

Prokofiev:

'Noseda had a strong command throughout here, and from the opening angular violin theme, with cellos responding in kind, through to woodwind solos in the third movement’s relentless melodic line, orchestral precision was impressive'.

'... an emphatically commanding performance from Noseda and the LSO to end a highly engaging concert'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Deeply expressive, virtuosic cello sonatas from Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason

Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason
© James Hole

Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello)

Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano)

7.30pm, Tuesday 28 May 2024

Barbican Hall, London

★★★★

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1947): Cello Sonata No. 1 in B flat major, Op. 45

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Cello Sonata No. 5 in D major, Op. 102 No. 2

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924): Cello Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 109

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849): Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65

Encore:

Chopin: Largo from Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65

Sheku & Isata Kanneh-Mason
© Nick Boston

Mendelssohn:

'It is a lightly joyful work, and Sheku and Isata played with nimble delicacy'.

Beethoven:

'From the funereal opening, with Isata’s low soft chords and Sheku’s long sustained line, right through to the final falling harmonies and low cello notes to end, they showed remarkable sensitivity in this typically profound late Beethovenian statement'.

Fauré:

'Sheku and Isata passed the melodic fragments back and forth, with some deft pedalling from Isata in the central movement in particular to avoid muddying the line among the rich textures'.

Chopin:

'... it was the sad, lyrical Largo that sat at the heart of this performance, Sheku and Isata at their expressive best, each seamlessly taking the baton of sustained melody from the other'.

Isata & Sheku Kanneh-Mason
© Nick Boston

'This was an impressive evening from two rapidly maturing performers, not afraid to bring chamber music to audiences more familiar with more standard virtuosic concerto displays'. 

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Vladimir Jurowski and the Bayerisches Staatsorchester make it all look so easy

Vladimir Jurowski
© Mark Allan/Barbican

Yefim Bronfman (piano) 

Louise Alder (soprano)

Bayerisches Staatsorchester

Vladimir Jurowski (conductor)

7.30pm, Tuesday 19 September, 2023

Barbican Hall, London

★★★★★

Yefim Bronfman & the Bayersiches Staatsorchester
© Mark Allan/Barbican

Richard Wagner (1813-1883): Prelude to Tristan und Isolde

Robert Schumann (1810-1856): Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54

Encore:

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) – Nocturne in D flat major, Op. 27 No. 2

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911): Symphony No. 4 in G major

Encore:

Mahler: Suite aus den Orchesterwerken (Bach, Johann Sebastian), 4. Air

(from Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068)

Wagner:

'From the opening bars ... Jurowski commanded silence in the portentous rests, with knife-edge precision from the strings, leading up to ‘that’ chord; the strings were indeed the stars of the show'. 

Louis Alder & the Bayerisches Staatsorchester
© Mark Allan/Barbican

Schumann:

'Yefim Bronfman delivered effortlessly clean Schumann'.

'it was his delicacy and tenderness in the ‘Clara’ second subject of the opening movement, and his fairy-like embellishments at the top of the keyboard in the finale that stood out'.

Mahler:

'Jurowski brought out every little detail, but it never felt that he was stressing the point'.

'Louise Alder set the mood perfectly, with intense communication of the text ... Alder’s rich tone and intensity of expression lifted this way beyond the straightforward'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

No nonsense joy in Kissin's Beethoven at the Barbican

Evgeny Kissin
© Felix Broede

Evgeny Kissin (piano)

Thursday 6 February 2020

Barbican Hall, London

★★★★★













Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827):
Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 'Pathétique'
15 Variations and a Fugue, Op. 35 'Eroica'
Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31 No. 2 'Tempest'
Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 'Waldstein'
Encores:

Bagatelle for piano, Op.126 No.6 in E flat major

Six variations on an original theme for piano in D major, Op.76

Bagatelle for piano, Op.33 no. 5 in C major

Six Écossaises for piano, WoO 83

Evgeny Kissin
© Nick Boston

'Kissin took no prisoners – definitely not Beethoven for the fainthearted, yet performances full of urgent energy and evident joy in the music'.

The 'Pathétique' Sonata:

'It is a testament to Kissin’s unquestionably phenomenal technical prowess that nothing ever disrupted the momentum here'.

The Eroica Variations:

'Kissin carried us through their journey with a great sense of the overall architecture'.

'The Tempest was impatient and full of breathless energy ... The Waldstein was uncluttered and surprisingly smooth'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Hefty Bruckner eclipsed by Norman's Grammy-nominated 'Sustain'

Gustavo Dudamel/LA Phil
© Mark Allan/Barbican

Los Angeles Philharmonic

Gustavo Dudamel (condutor)

Wednesday 20 November 2019

Barbican Hall, London

★★★★






Andrew Norman (b.1979): Sustain (2018)

Anton Bruckner (1824-96): Symphony No. 4 in E flat major, 'Romantic'
(1874, rev 1878-80, ed Nowak)

Norman:
'The cumulative effect, with ever-faster collisions of chromatic cascades swirling around the orchestra, is captivating, oppressive and thrilling at the same time'.

'The orchestral players ... were totally on top of the serious ensemble demands it presents'

Bruckner:
'Dudamel and the LA Phil certainly gave full weight to the climaxes, loud and full-bodied, with a particularly blazing conclusion to the finale'.

'A powerful overall performance'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Andrew Norman, Gustavo Dudamel & the LA Phil
© Nick Boston

Uplifting Romantic giants from Ax, Rattle and the LSO

Emanuel Ax, Sir Simon Rattle
& the LSO
© Kevin Leighton

Emanuel Ax (piano)
London Symphony Orchestra
Sir Simon Rattle (conductor) 

Wednesday 18 September 2019, 7pm

Barbican Hall, London

★★★★

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 83

Encore:

Robert Schumann (1810-1856): Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 No. 1

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943): Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27

Emanuel Ax
© Kevin Leighton

'Ax and Rattle ensured that the balance between piano and orchestra were always controlled'.

'The warm, silky sound of Tim Hugh’s solo cello, combined with Ax’s delicacy ... made for an exquisite slow movement'.

'Rattle never allowed the surges of romantic passion here to get too carried away ... so that the impact of the brief passionate climax when it finally arrived was all the more powerful'.

'Rattle and the LSO, along with Ax, succeeded here in making an evening of such weighty masterpieces feel airy, uncluttered and suitably uplifting, a true pleasure to experience'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Passion and playfulness in an engaging programme from Joshua Bell and Sam Haywood

Joshua Bell, © Richard Ashcroft

Joshua Bell (violin)
Sam Hayward (piano)

Wednesday 27 February 2019

Barbican Hall, London

★★★★

Beethoven: Sonata No. 4 in A minor, Op. 23

Prokofiev: Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 94a

Grieg: Sonata No. 2 in G major, Op. 13

Encores: 

Clara Schumann: Three Romances, Op. 22 – No.1: Andante molto

Brahms: Hungarian Dances WoO1, No. 1 in G minor, arr. Joachim

Wieniawski: Scherzo-Tarantelle, Op. 16

'Their Beethoven had spark and delicate simplicity, whilst their Prokofiev was full of bite and foot-stomping rhythms'.

Prokofiev: 

'Bell took flight with the circus acrobatics of the finale'.

Grieg:

'Bell and Hayward’s passionate performance was a delight'.

Schumann:

'Haywood's limpid opening supporting Bell's beautifully silky tone'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.