Concert Reviews – Seen and Heard International

Ryan Wigglesworth and the BBC SO celebrate and continue the Boulez programming legacy

06/04/2025 by Mark Berry

United Kingdom Berg and Debussy: Sophie Bevan (soprano), BBC Symphony Chorus (chorus master: Neil Ferris), BBC Symphony Orchestra / Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor). Barbican Hall, London, 4.4.2025. (MB)

Apollo’s Fire and vocalists find grace and glory in Bach’s Mass in B minor

06/04/2025 by Mark S Jordan

United States J. S. Bach, Mass in B minor: Rebecca Myers (soprano), Aryssa Leigh Burrs, Gabriela Estephanie Solís (mezzo-sopranos), Emily Marvosh (contralto), Jacob Perry (tenor), Edward Vogel (baritone), Charles Wesley Evans (baritone), Apollo’s Fire / Jeannette Sorrell (conductor). St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Akron, Ohio, 4.4.2025. (MSJ)

Jeannette Sorrell conducts Rebecca Myers (soprano), Gabriela Estephanie Solís (mezzo-soprano) and Apollo’s Fire © Apollo’s Fire

Jurowski and the LPO’s phenomenal performance of a wonderful Lyatoshynsky symphony

06/04/202504/04/2025 by Colin Clarke

United Kingdom Prokofiev, Mussorgsky (arr. Denisov), Lyatoshynsky: Matthew Rose (bass), London Philharmonic Orchestra / Vladimir Jurowski (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London, 2.4.2025. (CC)

Vladimir Jurowski conducts Matthew Rose (bass) and the London Philharmonic Orchestra © Marc Gascoigne

Pianist Joyce Yang finds emotional throughlines in works by Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and Robert Schumann

04/04/2025 by Harvey Steiman

United States Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and R. Schumann: Joyce Yang (piano). San Francisco Performances, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, 1.4.2025. (HS)

Joyce DiDonato’s Wigmore Hall Winterreise: A journey both magnificent and misconceived

02/04/2025 by Christopher Sallon

United Kingdom Schubert: Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano), Maxim Emelyanychev (fortepiano), Wigmore Hall, London, 28.3.2025. (CSa)

Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano) and Maxim Emelyanychev (fortepiano) © Darius Weinberg/WH

Juraj Valčuha conducts the SF Symphony in a vivid program of Brahms and Shostakovich

02/04/2025 by Harvey Steiman

United States Brahms, Shostakovich: Gil Shaham (violin), San Francisco Symphony / Juraj Valčuha (conductor). Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, 30.3.2025. (HS)

Gil Shaham and Juraj Valčuha at the ovation for the Brahms Violin Concerto © Harvey Steiman

Violinist Johan Dalene lives up to his reputation in his Canadian debut

02/04/2025 by Geoffrey Newman

Canada Various: Johan Dalene (violin), Sahun Sam Hong (piano). Vancouver Playhouse, Vancouver, 23.4.2025. (GN)

The BBC SO’s ‘Total Immersion’ day worthily celebrates the Boulez centenary

02/04/202501/04/2025 by Mark Berry

United Kingdom BBC SO Total Immersion: Pierre Boulez: Beñat Erro Díez, Lily Payne (clarinets), Hannah Miller (recording engineer), Tamara Stefanovich (piano), Anna Dennis (soprano), BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins (conductor). Milton Court Concert Hall and Barbican Hall, London, 30.3.2025. (MB)