Tag: royal northern sinfonia
-
Imogen Cooper/Lewis/RNS live at the Glasshouse review – a fitting send-off
Returning to the same composer that started her career over five decades ago, Imogen Cooper’s farewell concerto was an uplifting Mozart masterclass. A nuanced 27th Concerto highlighted Cooper’s talent as one of Britain’s finest concert pianists.
-
Friday Night Club with the Unthanks review – beautiful ballads, evocative prose and a full-face gremlin mask
Debuting a brand new series of variety shows at Gateshead’s Glasshouse, the Unthanks were warm and welcoming hosts for this feast of North East culture. Tim Dalling was hilarious and the RNS Quartet were predictably compelling, but it was Clara Mann’s devastatingly elegant songs that stole the show.
-
RNS/Ólafsson live at the Glasshouse review – quite possibly the best pianist in the world right now
Beethoven’s flamboyant Emperor concerto was an odd choice for this master of pianistic introspection, but Ólafsson nonetheless proved his world class status following a typically daring and dynamic first half from Sousa’s Royal Northern Sinfonia.
-
RNS/Kanneh-Mason live at the Glasshouse review – epic Beethoven pushes RNS to the limits
Starry pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason’s Clara Schumann had crystalline clarity plus a stunning cello solo, but it was Dinis Sousa’s vigorous tackling of Beethoven’s most fabled symphony that had RNS operating at their genuinely world class best.
-
RNS/Kim live at the Glasshouse review – music fizzing with tension
Playing to a half-capacity Glasshouse, Sunwook Kim’s admirable account of Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto was technically dazzling if lacking in nuance before the RNS found lift off with an invigorating Schumann symphony.
-
RNS/Włoszczowska live at Sage Gateshead review – propulsive Bartók steals the show
Maria Włoszczowska’s laidback approach to the combined roles of soloist and conductor gave mixed results, but the splendour of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto remained largely intact. It was Bartók’s lively Divertimento that saw the RNS at their most dynamic and engaging.
Undertone 