The BBC Proms continue to dominate the classical calendar in the UK this week with the limelight been stolen by a visiting American orchestra.
Beethoven's Missa Solemnis was on the menu for the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis. Davis is a conductor determined to conquer it and attacked it at this Prom with ambition and scope. The chorus faced their challenging task with unfailing bravery and energy, while soloist Sarah Connolly was fully in charge of her vocal colours.
Young cellist Nathalie Clein confidently guided the audience through Gubaidulina's modernist, Russian-tinged music, with beauty and ugliness in controlled balance at Saturday's Matinee concert at Cadogan Hall, where there was an otherworldly experience of contemporary classical music. Saturday Matinee's showcase just how diverse and broad the programming for the Proms really is as the pure sound of the BBC singers was brought out by the Renaissance pastiche of the Tippet.
On Tuesday evening, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra were in fine fettle with a bright, brash and bracing delivery of a typically idiosyncratic version of Mahler Five by conductor Manfred Honeck. The result was riveting, but the spectral Lohengrin Overture and Wolfgang Rihm's ethereal violin concerto Gesungene Zeit proved that they could also do meek and mild when it suited them.
The same orchestra performed a well-chosen curiosity by Walter Braunfels the previous night, a vivid orchestral variation of a Berlioz song which had its own swaggering charm in this cut-down version. With conductor Honeck pushing the drama and urgency at the expense of coherence, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 5 again leaned too far towards the strident though.
The best classical CD releases of the week include Yuri Bashmet's outstanding pairing of Brahms and Tchaikovsky and an intriguing collection by contemporary composer Leonid Desyatnikov. The bargain box set of the flamboyant, entertaining and yet neglected Russian composer Rheingold Glire was also impressive.
Beethoven's Missa Solemnis was on the menu for the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis. Davis is a conductor determined to conquer it and attacked it at this Prom with ambition and scope. The chorus faced their challenging task with unfailing bravery and energy, while soloist Sarah Connolly was fully in charge of her vocal colours.
Young cellist Nathalie Clein confidently guided the audience through Gubaidulina's modernist, Russian-tinged music, with beauty and ugliness in controlled balance at Saturday's Matinee concert at Cadogan Hall, where there was an otherworldly experience of contemporary classical music. Saturday Matinee's showcase just how diverse and broad the programming for the Proms really is as the pure sound of the BBC singers was brought out by the Renaissance pastiche of the Tippet.
On Tuesday evening, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra were in fine fettle with a bright, brash and bracing delivery of a typically idiosyncratic version of Mahler Five by conductor Manfred Honeck. The result was riveting, but the spectral Lohengrin Overture and Wolfgang Rihm's ethereal violin concerto Gesungene Zeit proved that they could also do meek and mild when it suited them.
The same orchestra performed a well-chosen curiosity by Walter Braunfels the previous night, a vivid orchestral variation of a Berlioz song which had its own swaggering charm in this cut-down version. With conductor Honeck pushing the drama and urgency at the expense of coherence, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 5 again leaned too far towards the strident though.
The best classical CD releases of the week include Yuri Bashmet's outstanding pairing of Brahms and Tchaikovsky and an intriguing collection by contemporary composer Leonid Desyatnikov. The bargain box set of the flamboyant, entertaining and yet neglected Russian composer Rheingold Glire was also impressive.
About the Author:
Steve Alexander is a writer in London with a good knowledge of the arts. For the latest classical music reviews and interviews with leading names in the music world, visit theartsdesk.com.
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