United Kingdom Schoenberg, Alma Mahler, and Berg – ‘Air from another planet’:Barbara Hannigan (soprano), Reinbert de Leeuw (piano), Quatuor Diotima (Yunpeng Zhao, Guillaume Latour (violins), Franck Chevalier (viola), Pierre Morlet (cello)). Queen Elizabeth Hall, Londonm 24.1.2013 (MB)
Mark Berry
Elder and the LPO: Much to Admire
United Kingdom Webern, Schoenberg, and Mahler: Lilli Paasikivi (mezzo-soprano), Paul Groves (tenor), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London, 23.1.2013 (MB)
A Disappointing Substitute for Sir Colin Davis
United Kingdom Elgar and Mozart:Tim Hugh (cello), Elizabeth Watts (soprano), Daniela Lehner (mezzo-soprano), Maximilian Schmitt (tenor), Andrew Foster-Williams (baritone), London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Yutaka Sado (conductor). Barbican Hall, London, 13.1.2013 (MB)
Birtwistle’s Rigour and Invention Showcased at King’s Place
United Kingdom Birtwistle: Nicolas Hodges (piano), Christian Dierstein (percussion), Andrew Watts (counter-tenor), Melinda Maxwell (oboe), Helen Tunstall (harp). Hall One, Kings Place, London, 9.1.2013 (MB)
Wolf Lieder at Wigmore Hall: A Mixed Experience
United Kingdom Wolf: Anglelika Kirchschlager (mezzo-soprano), Dietrich Henschel (baritone), Julius Drake (piano). Wigmore Hall, London, 6.1.2013 (MB)
A New Year Visit to Seventeenth-Century Venice
United Kingdom ‘Echoes of Venice’: Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Matthew Wadsworth (theorbo). Wigmore Hall, London, 3.1.2013 (MB)
Harold in Italy – but Without His Orchestra!
United Kingdom Weber, Berlioz, and Brahms: Gérard Caussé (viola), Michel Dalberto (piano). Wigmore Hall, London, 19.12.2012 (MB)
Enterprising Theater an der Wien Stages Hindemith Opera
Austria Hindemith, Mathis der Maler: Soloists, Slovak Philharmonic Choir (chorus mistress: Blanka Juhaňaková), Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Bertrand de Billy (conductor). Theater an der Wien, Vienna, 16.12.2012 (MB)