Concert Reviews – Seen and Heard International

A cello-violin duo in Aspen revitalizes the recital form with virtuosity and zest

19/07/2025 by Harvey Steiman

United States Aspen Music Festival [4]: Klein Music Tent, Harris Hall, Aspen. (HS)

Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin) and Sol Gabetta (cello) © Blake Nelson

Rouvali triumphs in a sparkling ‘Summers at Severance’ program in Cleveland

19/07/202518/07/2025 by Mark S Jordan

United States ‘Summers at Severance’ 2025 [2]: Cleveland Orchestra / Santtu-Matias Rouvali (conductor). Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center, Cleveland, 17.7.2025. (MSJ)

Santtu-Matias Rouvali conducts the Cleveland Orchestra © Aireonna McCall-Dube/TCO

A blistering, unforgettable Salome from Grigorian, Volle, Pappano and the LSO

15/07/2025 by Jim Pritchard

United Kingdom Richard Strauss, Salome (concert performance): Soloists, London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Antonio Pappano (conductor). Barbican Hall, London, 13.7.2025. (JPr)

Asmik Grigorian singing Salome © Andy Paradise

Four superb woodwind soloists help make Jasmine Barnes’s piece a winner in Aspen

15/07/202515/07/2025 by Harvey Steiman

United States Aspen Music Festival 2025 [3]: Klein Music Tent, Harris Hall, Aspen, Colorado. (HS)

Jasmine Barnes takes bows with (from l) flutist Demarre McGill, oboist Titus Underwood, bassoonist Andrew Brady and clarinetist Anthony McGill © Diego Redel

Cleveland opens Blossom with Osmo Vänskä leading piercing performances of mythical epics

15/07/202515/07/2025 by Mark S Jordan

United States Blossom Music Festival 2025 [1]: Shelén Hughes (soprano), Reginald Mobley (countertenor), John Brancy (baritone), Blossom Festival Chorus, Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus, Cleveland Orchestra / Osmo Vänskä (conductor). Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, 12.7.2025. (MSJ)

Osmo Vänskä conducts *Carmina Burana* with soloists (from l) Reginald Mobley, John Brancy and Shelén Hughes © Roger Mastroianni/TCO

Dialogue in color and form: Debussy and Ravel at Tanglewood

14/07/2025 by Edward Sava-Segal

United States Tanglewood 2025 [1] – Debussy, Ravel: Seong-Jin Cho (piano), Boston Symphony Orchestra / Andris Nelsons (conductor). Koussevitzky Music Shed, Lenox, 12.7.2025. (ES-S)

Andris Nelsons conducts Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G with Seong-Jin Cho © Hillary Scott

Outstanding concert by Stéphane Degout and Quatuor Diotima at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence

13/07/2025 by Mark Berry

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)

Stéphane Degout (centre) and Quatuor Diotima

Edgar Meyer’s eclectic magic and Ana María Martínez’s life-history recital are the week’s Aspen highlights

14/07/202513/07/2025 by Harvey Steiman

United States Aspen Music Festival 2025 [2]: Harris Hall, Aspen, Colorado. (HS)