United Kingdom Beethoven, Mozart, Charles Hallé and Sibelius: Heejae Kim (piano), Hallé / Jonathon Heyward (conductor). King George’s Hall, Blackburn, 12.4.2019. (MC)
The Hallé Commemorates its Founder’s Music in an Otherwise Austro-German Concert
Michael Cookson
RNCM’s Compelling and Entertaining The Pilgrim’s Progress Has Top Drawer Staging
United Kingdom Ralph Vaughan Williams, The Pilgrim’s Progress: Soloists, Chorus and Opera Orchestra of the Royal Northern College of Music / Rebecca Tong (conductor). RNCM Opera Theatre, Manchester 5.4.2019. (MC)
Andrew Gourlay Proves to be in Assured Control of the BBC Philharmonic in Lancaster
United Kingdom Mendelssohn, Edward Cowie, Tchaikovsky: Julian Bliss (clarinet), BBC Philharmonic / Andrew Gourlay (conductor), Great Hall, Lancaster University, Lancashire, 7.2.2019. (MC)
CONDUCTOR ÁDÁM FISCHER IN CONVERSATION WITH MICHAEL COOKSON
Michael Cookson interviews Ádám Fischer
Sitting in the conductor room at the famous Semperoper, Dresden last May I interviewed conductor Ádám Fischer. In an hour’s time he would be conducting a compelling performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio directed Keith Warner (click here). I couldn’t help but contemplate on the many famous conductors who had been in the room over the years since the Semperoper’s reconstruction in 1985.
BBC Philharmonic’s Light Odyssey Illuminates Blackpool
United Kingdom Light Odyssey (Lightpool Festival 2018) – Debussy, Saint‐Saëns, Barber, Bernstein, Copland, Vaughan Williams, Britten: BBC Philharmonic / Eivind Aadland (conductor), Empress Ballroom, Winter Gardens, Blackpool, 18.10.2018. (MC)
Impressive Unity from Competition-Winning The Fairey Band
United Kingdom Various composers, The Fairey Band: Garry E. Cutt (conductor), Methodist Church, Park Street, Lytham, 22.9.2018. (MC)
Philippe Herreweghe Makes a Strong Case for Dvořák’s Requiem
Germany Musikfest Berlin 2018 [8] – Dvořák: Julia Kleiter (soprano), Sophie Harmsen (mezzo-soprano), Maximilian Schmitt (tenor), Krešimir Stražanac (bass-baritone), Collegium Vocale Gent, Konzerthausorchester / Philippe Herreweghe (conductor), Philharmonie, Berlin, 11.9.2018. (MC)
Choreography Adds a Wonderful Dimension to Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette
Germany Berlioz: Thomas Blondelle (tenor), Ronnita Miller (mezzo-soprano), Byung Gil Kim (bass), Choir of Deutsche Oper Berlin (Chorus master: Jeremy Bines), Orchestra of Deutsche Oper Berlin / Thomas Søndergård (conductor), Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berlin, 10.9.2018. (MC)
