United Kingdom Rachmaninov: Steven Osborne (piano), Ex Cathedra, Jeffrey Skidmore (conductor). Symphony Hall,Birmingham. 2 10. 2011 (JQ)
John Quinn
Three Choirs Festival 2011 (8) – A wonderful account of Brahms’s Requiem in Worcester
United Kingdom Vaughan Williams, Brahms: Peter Atkinson (narrator), Elizabeth Watts (soprano), William Dazeley (baritone), Festival Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Geraint Bowen. Worcester Cathedral, 12.8.2011 (JQ)
Three Choirs Festival 2011 (5) – Sir Andrew Davis’ fine performance of an Elgar rarity
United Kingdom Elgar, Caractacus, Op. 35 (1898): Judith Howarth (soprano) (Eigen), Ben Johnson (tenor) (Orbin). Peter Savidge (baritone) (Caractacus), Stephen Roberts (baritone) (Arch-Druid & Bard), Brindley Sherratt (bass) (Claudius), Festival Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis. Worcester Cathedral. 10.8.2011 (JQ)
Three Choirs Festival 2011 (4) – A memorable Mahler performance from the Philharmonia and Susanna Mälkki
United Kingdom Mahler; Symphony No 3 in D minor Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano), Ladies of the Festival Chorus, Choristers of the Three Cathedral Choirs, Philharmonia Orchestra, Susanna Mälkki. Worcester Cathedral. 8.8.2011 (JQ)
Three Choirs Festival 2011 (2) – A dignified and moving commemoration of 9/11
United Kingdom Barber, John Adams. Mahler, Mozart: Julia Doyle (soprano), Clare McCaldin (mezzo-soprano), Simon Wall (tenor), Robert Macdonald (bass), Festival Chorus, Choristers of the Three Cathedral Choirs, Philharmonia Orchestra, Adrian Partington. Worcester Cathedral. 7.8. 2011 (JQ)
A variable Dream of Gerontius opens the 2011 Three Choirs Festival
United Kingdom Three Choirs Festival 2011 (1) – Elgar: Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano), John Graham-Hall (tenor), Alan Opie (baritone), Festival Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Adrian Lucas. Worcester Cathedral. 6.8.2011 (JQ)
Birmingham celebrates Symphony Hall’s coming of age in style
Birmingham celebrates Symphony Hall’s coming of age in style (JQ)