Reviews: Schnittke, Webern, Berg, Lindberg

Reviews of the most recent Between Two Worlds concert, which placed Schnittke’s Third Symphony alongside works by Weber, Berg and Lindberg:

Neil Fisher in The Times:

“Is there a better concert programmer than Vladimir Jurowski? The Russian conductor is currently climbing a mountain for the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s continuing exploration of the composer Alfred Schnittke, whose brazen eclecticism takes you to a musical hinterland that practically requires its own visa.”

ClassicalSource.com

MusicOMH.com

 

Wednesday 25 November 2009

Vladimir Jurowski conductor
Leonidas Kavakos violin

Webern Passacaglia
Lindberg Chorale
Berg Violin Concerto
Schnittke Symphony 3

www.lpo.org.uk/schnittke

Schnittke exploration day review

Between Two Worlds study day

Andrew Clark in the Financial Times attended much of Sunday’s day of talks and concerts at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall exploring the life and music of Alfred Schnittke:

“Will the real Alfred Schnittke please stand up? The oeuvre squeezed into Sunday’s marathon was so diverse that the Southbank Centre’s Schnittke retrospective might well have been titled Between Multiple Worlds. His film work (66 scores in 20 years) taught him to be a chameleon – the best way to elude Soviet censorship. But Schnittke became too versatile for his own good, acting Shostakovich’s heir one minute, playing neo-Classical the next, flirting with popular dance forms, dabbling in Modernist gimmicks. But thanks to his stylistic promiscuity, he is no one-taste wonder but a five-course meal.”

www.lpo.org.uk/schnittke

 

Radio 3 broadcast: Schnittke’s Faust opera

Last week’s performance of Schnittke’s opera ‘The History of Dr Johann Faustus’ will be broadcast on BBC Radio3 this evening, preceded by the works that formed the first half of the concert – Haydn’s Philosopher Symphony and Wagner’s Prelude and Good Friday Spell from Parsifal.

Listen tonight (24 November) from 7.00pm, or for one week via BBC iplayer.

Vladimir Jurowski conductor
Anna Larsson Mephistophila
Andrew Watts Mephistophiles
Markus Brutscher Narrator
Stephen Richardson Dr Faustus
Moscow Conservatory Chamber Choir

Haydn Symphony 22 (The Philosopher)
Wagner Prelude and Good Friday Spell from Parsifal
Schnittke Excerpts from The History of D. Johann Faustus (UK première)

www.lpo.org.uk

Renga Ensemble podcast

December’s podcast features the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Renga Ensemble, before their concert on 2 December 2009 at the Vortex Jazz Club.

The Renga Ensemble is formed from musicians from the London Philharmonic Orchestra who work with performers and composers from outside the classical mainstream – such as jazz, folk, Indian and African styles. Director Scott Stroman talks to Edward Seckerson about the ensemble, and introduces the concert on 2 December at the Vortex Jazz Club in London. Plus contributions from two members of Renga, and some CD gift recommendations from Edward Seckerson.

Buy tickets

www.lpo.org.uk/podcasts

Reviews: Schnittke’s opera Faust 2

 

Observer: Fiona Maddocks

“Mind-blowing is one of those expressions best allowed out every five years at most. This quinquennial airing greets the UK premiere of Alfred Schnittke’s extraordinary The History of D Johann Faustus, part of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Between Two Worlds festival lovingly devised by conductor Vladimir Jurowski.”

Evening Standard: Barry Millington

“Many are the treatments of Faust I’ve encountered. But no Gretchen and two Mephistopheles – a vampish Marlene Dietrich figure and a countertenor with high heels and no trousers?

This is the conception of Alfred Schnittke, however, whose bizarre imagination leads him up many an unconventional path in his opera The History of Dr Johann Faustus.”

Opera Brittania

Classical Source

 

CD – review of Mahler 6 with Tennstedt

Review of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s CD release of Mahler Symphony No. 6 conducted by Klaus Tennstedt in Canada’s La Scena Musicale:

In 1991, Norman Lebrecht wrote of the phenomenal effect of Klaus Tennstedt in concert: “He found his favourite audience in London, where luridly coifed punks stood motionless in the bear pit of the Royal Albert Hall through his 90-minute performance of Mahler’s Sixth.” About the conductor’s return to the podium after surgery and treatment for cancer, Lebrecht went on, “He returned to give an awesome Mahler Sixth… that left many in tears.” And here is Tennstedt live in this crucial work captured by BBC engineers at the peak of his powers. It is an astonishing account and one that amply demonstrates the virtuosity of the LPO of 1983 and its consummate devotion to the fragile and chronically insecure conductor. This is a disc that no self-respecting Mahlerian should be without. Note also that the LPO label also offers an equally impressive 1985 performance of Mahler’s First (LPO-0012) coupled with Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen sung by Thomas Hampson.

- Stephen Habington

LPO-0038

 

Reviews: Schnittke’s opera Faust

The opening concert of the London Philharmonic Schnittke’s Festival included a semi-staged performance of Schnittke’s opera ‘The History of Dr Faustus’. 

Read the very different responses from the critics using the links below:

The Times
..the vocal writing is vertiginous — an expressive seismograph gone mad. This cast gave it a virtuoso outing, with the bass Stephen Richardson an obsessive Faustus at his laptop; Andrew Watts as an hysterically stratospheric Mephistophiles (joined later by Anna Larsson’s sultry Mephistophila); and the tenor Markus Brutscher as a gripping Narrator.

With the LPO tight-packed on to the stage, Annabel Arden, directing, could do little more than artfully position her singers. The real stage management was musical. Vladimir Jurowski, conducting, set the Schnittke in the revelatory and thought-provoking context of superb performances of Haydn’s Philosopher Symphony and of Wagner’s Prelude and Good Friday Spell from Parsifal.

The Independent
This way in to the labyrinth of the South Bank’s Alfred Schnittke Festival: Between Two Worlds. Vladimir Jurowski, our guide, should be commended for devising such a clever programme and for furthermore providing an intriguing context for the compositions of this style-tripping musical maverick.

The Guardian

The Telegraph

Financial Times

What’s on Stage

The Arts Desk

Vladimir Jurowski conductor
Anna Larsson Mephistophila
Andrew Watts Mephistophiles
Markus Brutscher Narrator
Stephen Richardson Dr Faustus
Moscow Conservatory Chamber Choir

Haydn Symphony 22 (The Philosopher)
Wagner Prelude and Good Friday Spell from Parsifal
Schnittke Excerpts from The History of D. Johann Faustus (UK première)

www.lpo.org.uk/schnittke

First responses to hearing an orchestra

‘The Band’ visit a London Philharmonic Orchestra rehearsal for the first time

On 17^th November 2009 the members of The Band – our youth fusion ensemble observed the Orchestra’s rehearsal of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall.  This is their response:

Incredible, how they were all in perfect sync and not one of them was out of time.  Caroline – 19

 I felt inspired. I was impressed by how good they are. Especially… they were all looking at that conductor and they understood everything he was doing…  He didn’t even have to raise his hands and already they knew where to go, what to do. It’s really amazing, especially with that many people. I would understand with maybe 10 players but that many people playing together….   Lidia – 19

 In awe. My mouth was open!  WOW! It’s so amazing, how polished it is.  Aisha – 17

 I thought that the sound was kind of perfect and you could hear every instrument.  Sam – 16

 The music was moving and evokes quite mixed emotions.  Caroline – 19

 I thought it was good – especially when it stopped, and everyone stopped at the same time. They didn’t stop and somebody made a little scratch – everyone stopped together.

And the focus on the conductor was really good. I was impressed by the power the conductor had to make it louder, just with one twisty gesture.  Aisha – 17

 It was amazing watching the conductor. He literally knows every part of the music. You could tell when he was feeling the music – with the way he moved his body, making all these movements…. it was really interesting….

 I liked how it imitated throughout the whole orchestra. One part played something, and then another section played it, then another, and how the character changed, when it was passed around.   Jordan -16 

 Finally, Desmond who is 19, and plays the Sax and Trombone, was sitting next to me in the rehearsal, and whispered in my ear in the rehearsal…. It’s so beautiful…  I’ve never heard an Orchestra LIVE before… it sounds amazing….

The Band is a community ensemble for young people aged 15-19 from our local community (Southwark, Lambeth and Lewisham).  The ensemble of instrumentalists and vocalists meets regularly in term time, joined by musicians from the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The workshops, led by Phil Mullen, use free composition as a method of informal learning, allowing the participants to compose and perform their own new music in a mixture of styles. The series of workshops culminates in a performance of 45-60 minutes, which normally takes place at the Royal Festival Hall.

www.lpo.org.uk/education/beyond_band.html

Schnittke – Faust preview

Henrietta Bredin highly recommends Schnittke’s opera ‘Faust’ in the Spectator’s Arts Blog.
Wednesday 18 November, 7.30pm, Royal Festival Hall
London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Jurowski

“Gounod’s Faust? Yes. Marlowe’s Faust? Yes. Schnittke’s Faust? Well, maybe not such a familiar work for most of us. But it’s an absolutely extraordinary, louche, sleazy, frighteningly funny and bruise-black dramatic piece of work.”

Full details, including programme notes, now on the LPO website

www.lpo.org.uk/schnittke

 

Schnittke Festival preview – Financial Times

Richard Fairman in the Financial Times previews the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Schnittke Festival.   Read the full article for an introduction to the hugely varied music of Schnittke.

“In selecting the works to include in “Between Two Worlds”, Jurowski says the aim was to sample as many sides of the composer’s personality as possible. He was keen to show Schnittke’s connections with the main European musical tradition, through the colossal Symphony No 3 – one of Schnittke’s most apocalyptic works, throwing in everything from electric guitar to drum kit, and yet with the fingerprints of German composers from Bach to Henze all over it.

“If we achieve one thing with this Schnittke festival,” Jurowski says, “I hope people will come away with a new perception of who Schnittke was. In one concert he is paired with Haydn and Wagner, in another with Webern, Berg and Lindberg. We want to tease the audience’s palette, arouse their interest, and send them out to explore not only the music but everything that made Schnittke who he is.” “

www.lpo.org.uk/schnittke