Festival 2024

Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony gets a glorious performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Leipzig

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GermanyGermany Shostakovich Festival Leipzig [3]: Gautier Capuçon (cello), Boston Symphony Orchestra / Andris Nelsons (conductor), Gewandhaus, Leipzig. 17.5.2025. (GT)

Andris Nelsons conducts cellist Gautier Capuçon and the BSO © Jens Gerber

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Much to admire at Aix about Les Talens Lyriques’s Bach cantatas

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FranceFrance Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival [4] – Bach: Anna El-Khashem (soprano), Mari Askvik (alto), Nick Pritchard (tenor), Adrien Fournaison (bass), Namur Chamber Choir, Les Talens Lyriques / Christophe Rousset (conductor). Grand Théâtre de Provence, Aix-en-Provence, France, 20.4.2025. (CC)

Tenor Nick Pritchard and conductor Christophe Rousset © Caroline Doutre/Festival de Pâques

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McCrystal’s too merry Glyndebourne Merry Widow lacks the depth it deserves despite a fine ensemble

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow: Soloists, The Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra / John Wilson (conductor). Filmed (directed by Rhodri Huw) at the Glyndebourne Opera House and broadcast on BBC Four on 25.12.2024 and available on iPlayer. (JPr)

The entrance of Hanna Glawari (Danielle de Niese) in The Merry Widow Act I © Tristram Kenton

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Masterly twentieth-century Czech string quartets by the Janáček Quartet closes Festival Janáček Brno 2024

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Czech RepublicCzech Republic Festival Janáček Brno 2024 [7] – Kaprálová, Janáček, Novák: Janáček Quartet [Miloš Vacek, Richard Kružík [violins], Jan Řezníček [viola], Lukáš Polák [cello]). Villa Löw-Beer, 24.11.2024. (GT)

Janáček Quartet © Marek Olbrzymek

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Wonderful Brno recital of Moravian poetry set to music by Janáček and his musical friends

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Czech RepublicCzech Republic Festival Janáček Brno 2024 [6] – Martinů, Janáček, Dvořák: Feng-yűn Song (soprano), Lenka Navrátilová (piano). Leoš Janáček Memorial, Brno, 24.11.2024. (GT)

Soprano Feng-yűn Song and pianist Lenka Navrátilová © Marek Olbrzymek

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Brno’s Children’s Choir’s uplifting and vivid singing of Petr Eben’s song cycle

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Czech RepublicCzech Republic Festival Janáček Brno 2024 [5] – Eben: Brno Children’s Choir (choirmaster: Valeria Maťašova), Jitka Houfova (piano) Pavel Čenĕk Vaculík (narrator). Reduta Theatre (Mozart Hall), 23.11.2024. (GT)

Choirmaster Valeria Maťašova and the Brno Children’s Choir © Jakub Jíra

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Festival Janáček Brno 2024 closes with a terrific staging of The Cunning Little Vixen

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Czech RepublicCzech Republic Festival Janáček Brno 2024 [4] – Janáček, The Cunning Little Vixen: Soloists, Brno Children’s Chorus, Chorus and Orchestra of Janáček Opera / Marko Ivanović (conductor). Janáček Theatre, Brno, 24.11.2024. (GT)

Adam Plachetka (Forester) © Marek Olbrzymek

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