Berliner Philharmoniker – Christian Thielemann conducts Beethoven’s Missa solemnis Composed between 1819 and 1823, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis is one of the most beautiful, thrilling and atypical settings of the sacred repertoire – despite its much-debated religious status. Under Christian Thielemann’s leadership, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Rundfunkchor delivered a memorable performance. During the ‘Kyrie’, Thielemann was

Dvořák’s Stabat Mater Masterfully Conducted by Jakub Hrůša Dvořák: Simona Šaturová (soprano), Elisabeth Kulman (contralto), Steve Davislim (tenor), Jan Martiník (bass), Berlin Radio Choir (chorus master: Rustam Samedov), Schola of the Berlin Radio Choir (chorus master: Benjamin Goodson), Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jakub Hrůša (conductor). Philharmonie, Berlin, 17.11.2017. (MB) Dvořák – Stabat Mater, op.58 For

Philharmonie Stabat Mater, op.58 Simona Šaturová (soprano) Elisabeth Kulman (contralto) Steve Davislim (tenor) Jan Martiník (bass) Berlin Radio Choir (chorus master: Rustam Samedov) Schola of the Berlin Radio Choir (chorus master: Benjamin Goodson) Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra Jakub Hrůša (conductor) For whatever reason – I could speculate on a few, but shall not do so

New dog, new tricks: Britten Sinfonia and Sir Mark Elder In a typically fascinating programme for one of the most adventurous orchestras in the land, the Britten Sinfonia taught an enthusiastic Saffron Hall audience some little known but remarkably beautiful Finzi and cast revelatory new light on well trodden works by Mahler and Brahms. The orchestra’s

Britten Sinfonia – Mark Elder conducts Mahler/Britten, Finzi and Brahms – Elisabeth Kulman sings Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder With a Symphony per year starting now, Brahms’s cycle is getting the Britten Sinfonia long-term treatment (longevity being its watchword and currently enjoying twenty-fifth-birthday jaunts), Mark Elder favouring smaller forces in this four-part series that also embraces Mahler Lieder

Elisabeth Kulman sings Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder with Sir Mark Elder and the Britten Sinfonia Austrian singer Elisabeth Kulman has had an interesting career trajectory. She began her singing life as a soprano but later shifted to mezzo-soprano/contralto territory. Esteemed on the operatic stage, she relinquished the theatre for the concert platform in 2015, following an accident

Refinement, Transparency, and Chamber-like Flexibility from Mark Elder and Britten Sinfonia United Kingdom Mahler, Finzi and Brahms: Elisabeth Kulman (mezzo-soprano), Britten Sinfonia / Sir Mark Elder (conductor), Barbican Hall, London, 9.11.2017. (JPr) Sir Mark Elder conducts the Britten Sinfonia (c) Mark Allan Mahler (arr. Britten) – What the Wild Flowers tell me Finzi – The

Britten Sinfonia/Elder review – grace and poise as Brahms gets back to basics Barbican, LondonMark Elder’s first Brahms symphony cycle concert swapped weightiness for electric clarity and was prefaced with works by Mahler, Britten and Finzi How did Brahms want his orchestral works to be performed? The question hung over the opening instalment of Mark

Twin peaks Rattle and Oramo are conductors on peak form – shame they don’t have a decent concert hall between them Schoenberg began Gurrelieder in 1900, but he didn’t hear it until 1913. By then, he’d moved on, and he ostentatiously refused to acknowledge the applause for what (as it turned out) would be the greatest

Sakami Orami conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, dedicated to the memory of Jiří Bělohlávek  Before he and the BBC Symphony Orchestra launched Mahler’s first movement (entitled Totenfeier in its original stand-alone guise), Sakari Oramo made a brief speech dedicating this Prom ‘Resurrection’ Symphony to the memory of Jiří Bělohlávek who died