Switzerland Gstaad Menuhin Festival [1] – Bach/Busoni, Chopin, R. Schumann, Matinée des Jeunes Étoiles VII: Illia Ovcharenko (piano). Gstaad Chapel, Gstaad, Switzerland, 28.8.2023. (CC)
Illia Ovcharenko proves a name to watch at Gstaad
Colin Clarke
Handel’s Samson at the Proms attained a level of musical excellence available to very few performances
United Kingdom Prom 50 – Handel, Samson, HWV 57 (1741-2, heard in the revised 1743 version): Allan Clayton (Samson), Jacquelyn Stucker (Dalila), Joélle Harvey (Israelite Woman), Jess Dandy (Micah), Brindley Sherratt (Harapha), Jonathan Lemalu (Manoa), Will Pate (Messenger), Philharmonia Chorus / Laurence Cummings (harpsichord / director). Royal Albert Hall, London, 23.8.2023. (CC)
Ligeti’s Violin Concerto and Mozart’s ’Jupiter’ were the finest moments of a unique BBC Prom
United Kingdom Prom 47 – Les Siècles plays Ligeti and Mozart: Isabelle Faust (violin), Alexander Melnikov (fortepiano), Les Siècles / François-Xavier Roth (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 20.8.2023. (CC)
Kurtág’s Endgame has to be one of the most significant Proms for many years
United Kingdom Prom 43 – Kurtág, Fin de partie (Endgame, semi-staged, UK premiere): Soloists, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 17.8.2023. (CC)
L’Itinéraire was a day of remarkably high musical standards in 2023
France Itinéraire Baroque 2023 II – L’Itinéraire: Various locations and performers, 29.7.2023. (CC)
The Budapest Festival Orchestra’s Adagio from Mendelsohn’s Third is their crowning Proms achievement
United Kingdom Prom 37 – Weber, Schumann, Mendelssohn: Sir András Schiff (piano), Budapest Festival Orchestra / Iván Fischer (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 12.8.2023. (CC)
The Prom performance by violinist Geneva Lewis of Grace Williams’s concerto should be eagerly sought out
United Kingdom Prom 32 – Pejačević, Grace Williams, Holst: Geneva Lewis (violin), Ladies of the London Symphony Chorus, BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Jaime Martín (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 8.8.2023. (CC)
The freshness of youth ensured a bracing concert of Tchaikovsky and Brahms in Gstaad
United Kingdom Menuhin Gstaad Festival 2023 [2]: Tchaikovsky, Brahms: Raphael Nussbaumer (violin); Gstaad Festival Amateur Orchestra / Kevin Griffiths (conductor). Gstaad Festival Tent, Gstaad, Switzerland, 6.8.2023. (CC)
