United Kingdom Handel, Messiah: Nardus Williams (soprano),Eleanor Edmonds (mezzo-soprano), Chris Turner (tenor), Morgan Pearse (bass), OSJ Voices, Orchestra of St John’s/John Lubbock (conductor). St John’s, Smith Square, London, 10.12.2015 (MB)
Mark Berry
Magnus Lindberg’s New Violin Concerto at the Centre of a Puzzlingly Assembled Programme
United Kingdom Wagenaar, Lindberg, and Beethoven: Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London, 9.12.2015 (MB)
The London Sinfonietta’s Habitual Excellence in Boulez and Stockhausen
United Kingdom Boulez and Stockhausen: Clio Gould (violin), Sound Intermedia, Royal Academy of Music Manson Ensemble, London Sinfonietta, Wolfgang Lischke (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London, 5.12.2015. (MB)
An Absorbing Vienna Recital from Grigory Sokolov
Austria Schubert and Chopin: Grigory Sokolov (piano). Grosser Saal, Konzerthaus, Vienna, 4.12.2015. (MB)
Vienna State Opera’s Production of Tosca Shows its Age
Austria Puccini, Tosca: Soloists, Vienna State Opera Chorus (chorus master: Martin Schebesta), Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera, Dan Ettinger (conductor). Vienna State Opera, 2.12.2015. (MB)
Straussian performance of Hänsel und Gretel from Thielemann and Vienna Opera.
Austria Humperdinck, Hänsel und Gretel: Soloists, Children of the Vienna State Opera School (chorus master: Johannes Mertl), Students of the Vienna State Opera Ballet Academy, Stage Orchestra and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera, Christian Thielemann (conductor). Vienna State Opera, Vienna, 29.11.2015. (MB)
Interesting Musical Encounters at the Porgy and Bess
Austria Wien Modern (6) – Rykova, Prins, Ivičevič, and Weber: Black Page Orchestra, Porgy & Bess, Vienna, 25.11.2015 (MB)
Cultivated Playing from Augustin Hadelich
Austria Haydn, Adès, and Mendelssohn: Augustin Hadelich (violin), Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich, Kazuki Yamada (conductor). Musikverein, Vienna, 24.11.2015 (MB)