Concert Reviews

The complete list of posted concert reviews

Aziz Shokhakimov’s Stravinsky allows the Strasbourg Philharmonic to show its virtuoso colours

by

FranceFrance Debussy (orch. Büsser), Mozart, Stravinsky: Jan Lisiecki (piano), Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg / Aziz Shokhakimov (conductor). Salle Érasme, Palais de la musique et des Congrès, Strasbourg, France, 25.2.2025. (CC)

Aziz Shokhakimov conducts pianist Jan Lisiecki and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg

Read more

Eleonora Buratto was an outstanding Cio-Cio-San in Berlin Philharmonic’s exceptional Madama Butterfly

by

GermanyGermany Puccini, Madama Butterfly (concert performance): Soloists, Rundfunkchor Berlin (chief conductor: Gijs Leenaars), Berliner Philharmoniker / Kirill Petrenko (conductor). Broadcast live from the Berlin Philharmonie (directed by Michael Beyer) on the Digital Concert Hall, 27.4.2025. (JPr)

Kirill Petrenko conducts Jonathan Tetelman (Pinkerton), Eleonora Buratto (Cio-Cio-San) and the Berlin Philharmonic © Berlin Philharmonic

Read more

The Canton Symphony, Ohio’s hidden gem, shines in Vaughan Williams’s Sea Symphony

by

United StatesUnited States Vaughan Williams, Boyle – ‘Voyage on the High Seas’: Dashon Burton (bass-baritone), Bonnie Frauenthal (soprano), Canton Symphony Chorus (director: Doug Beery), Mount Union Concert Choir (director; Beth Polen), Canton Symphony Orchestra / Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz (conductor). Umstattd Hall at Zimmermann Symphony Center, Canton, 26.4.2025. (MSJ)

Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz conducts Ina Boyle’s A Sea Poem © Kelly Klein Photography/CSO

Read more

The English Concert hits all the right notes gloriously with Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Berkeley

by

United StatesUnited States Handel, Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Soloists and orchestra of The English Concert / Harry Bicket (artistic director and harpsichord). Cal Performances, Zellerbach Hall, University of California Berkeley, 27.4.2025. (HS)

The English Concert © Dario Acosta

Read more

Michael Tilson Thomas’s 80th birthday concert favors delights over tearful goodbyes

by

United StatesUnited States Various: Sasha Cooke, Frederica von Stade (mezzo-sopranos), Jessica Voss (vocalist), Ben Jones (tenor), San Francisco Symphony Chorus (director:  Jenny Wong), San Francisco Symphony / Michael Tilson Thomas, Teddy Abrams, Edwin Outwater (conductors). Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, 26.4.2025. (HS)

Michael Tilson Thomas conducts and Edwin Outwater turns pages © Christopher M. Howard

Read more

Mahler 8 at the Royal Festival Hall fails to overwhelm because of video and other distractions

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Mahler: Soloists, Tiffin Boys’ Choir (director: James Day), London Philharmonic Choir (artistic director: Neville Creed), London Symphony Chorus (chorus director: Mariana Rosas), London Philharmonic Orchestra / Edward Gardner (conductor), Royal Festival Hall, London, 26.4.2025. (JR)

Edward Gardner conducts Mahler’s Eighth Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall © Mark Allan/LPO

Read more