United Kingdom BBC Proms 2025 [7] – Birtwistle and Beethoven: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 28.7.2025. (MB)
Ryan Wigglesworth leads a strangely disappointing Birtwistle and Beethoven Prom
Mark Berry
A fine and enjoyable Prom from Sakari Oramo and the BBC SO
United Kingdom BBC Proms 2025 [4] – Stravinsky, Mendelssohn, Davis, and R. Strauss: Augustin Hadelich (violin), BBC Symphony Orchestra / Sakari Oramo (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 24.7.2025. (MB)
Staatsoper Unter den Linden’s new Die schweigsame Frau provides an excellent and deeply moving evening
Germany Richard Strauss, Die schweigsame Frau: Soloists, Staatsopernchor Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin / Christian Thielemann (conductor). Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin, 22.7.2025. (MB)
Henze’s Das Floss der Medusa provides an outstanding opening to the 2025 Salzburg Festival
Austria Salzburg Festival 2025 [1] – Henze, Das Floss der Medusa: Soloists, Bavarian Radio Chorus (chorus director: Max Hanft), WRD Radio Chorus (chorus directors: Paul Krämer, Alexander Lüken), Salzburg Festival and Theatre Children’s Choir (chorus directors: Regina Sgier, Wolfgang Götz), ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra / Ingo Metzmacher (conductor). Felsenreitschule, Salzburg, 18.7.2025. (MB)
Outstanding concert by Stéphane Degout and Quatuor Diotima at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence
France Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2025 [4] – Ligeti, Respighi, and Schoeck: Stéphane Degout (baritone), Quatuor Diotima (Yun-Peng Zhao, Léo Marillier [violins], Franck Chevalier [viola], Alexis Descharmes [cello]). Conservatoire Darius Milhaud, Aix-en-Provence, 10.7.2025. (MB)
Much to admire and enjoy in Don Giovanni at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence
France Festival d’Aix-en-Provence [2] – Mozart, Don Giovanni: Soloists, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle (conductor). Grand Théâtre de Provence, Aix-en-Provence, 8.7.2025. (MB)
The Quatuor Diotima play with skill and sangfroid at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence
France Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2025 [3] – Saariaho, Boulez, and Debussy: Quatuor Diotima (Yun-Peng Zhao, Léo Marillier [violins], Franck Chevalier [viola], Alexis Descharmes [cello]). Villa Lily-Pastré, Aix-en-Provence, 9.7.2025. (MB)
A very fine account of Cavalli’s La Calisto in Aix-en-Provence
France Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2025 [1] – Cavalli, La Calisto: Soloists, Ensemble Correspondances / Sébastien Daucé (conductor). Théâtre de l’Archevêché, Aix-en-Provence, 7.7.2025. (MB)
