Category: Reviews

  • Winterreise re-imagined?

    I had high hopes for Daniel Behle and his Winterreise arrangement, performed at the Wigmore Hall on 19 April. I had in my mind the ‘reimaginings’ of Christopher O’Riley, Luciano Berio and could not decide whether I would hear a mere extension of the original or something completely different. The interpretation of the cycle was […]

  • Bach Mass in B Minor: Vivace Chorus and the Brandenburg Sinfonia

    Bach’s Mass in B minor is a work of immense symmetry, beauty and power and Jeremy Backhouse brought it alive with the Vivace Chorus’ performance on Saturday 15 November at Guildford Cathedral. It can be a difficult acoustic but the chorus, orchestra (Brandenburg Sinfonia) and soloists were balanced with aplomb. The opening Kyrie was carefully […]

  • Keyboard Breakdown: LCMF 2013

    Just as I never expected to see a bicycle whizz past me at the Wigmore Hall at the recent Woodwose community opera (Kerry Andrew) I was equally surprised to see a harpsichord in a car park in Peckham. The London Contemporary Music Festival was something I only caught the end of really, attending only the […]

  • Woodwose: Wigmore’s first opera

    I never thought I’d see a bicycle whizz by me in the Wigmore Hall but it immediately captured the scene for the opening of Woodwose; the first ever community opera at Wigmore Hall. What makes the project so exciting for me is that the community of 120 local children and adults – joined by the […]

  • Ignite inspires at Wigmore Hall

    I’m all for collaborative composition; new music works best when it is a partnership between performer and composer that allows both parties to communicate confidently and faithfully. Ignite gave a short but compelling recital as part of Wigmore Hall’s Aperitif Series on Tuesday 4 June 2013 that demonstrated how successful this collaborative work can be. […]

  • 50 Years of Minimalism @ Kings Place

    – already published on I Care if You Listen(.com) at http://www.icareifyoulisten.com/2011/11/50-years-of-minimalism-rock-n-rollers-kings-place-london/ – I felt fortunate to attend the final concert that formed part of a short series at Kings Place, London, called ’5o Years of Minimalism’. Igor Toronyi-Lalic curated the series and from what I saw and heard at the concert this was clearly something […]

  • London Sinfonietta: Renewal

    Published originally here for I Care If You Listen(.com) The London Sinfonietta continue to experiment with different approaches in their presentation of contemporary music, and they struck a winner with their Luke Bedford: In Portrait concert on 22 May 2013 at the Purcell Room of the Southbank Centre in London. Bedford is a young British […]

  • Imagined Occasions: London Contemporary Orchestra celebrates its 5th birthday

    I don’t recall what I did for my fifth birthday but I certainly will remember the London Contemporary Orchestra’s fifth birthday. I visited the abandoned Aldwych Underground Station on the 24th May to experience behind the scenes of the first of the London Contemporary Orchestra’s ‘Imagined Occasions’ series (performed that evening). Helen Scarlett O’Neill and […]

  • Vivace Chorus – Best of British 26 May 2013

    The Guildford based Vivace Chorus were in full voice last weekend at Guildford Cathedral, giving a ‘Best of British’ concert as part of their Contemporary Choral Classics series. Will Todd’s Angel Song II opened the concert; a beautiful, ethereal evocation of angels on Christmas night. The commited performance was controlled with immense aplomb by Jeremy […]

  • Repeating Music

    Enjoyable and educational concert by the London Sinfonietta last night; an introduction to minimalism, combined with video design and curated with quotes and extracts of interviews from the three composers programmed. Phillip Glass, Steve Reich and Terry Riley made a well paced programme which included some visually interesting pieces (Pendulum Music by Reich) and the […]