Coates, Tenebrae, Short, Kings Place review - effective meeting of cello and choir
Delightful programme of old and new music is a refreshing Christmas treat
This time of year lots of choirs give lots of Christmas concerts that are more or less the same: traditional repertoire perhaps sprinkled with a few novelties. But Tenebrae’s concert on Saturday at Kings Place broke the mould with some imaginative programming, giving us just enough Christmas but no more, and some quite stunning choral singing.
Labèques, Aurora Orchestra, Collon, Kings Place review - good-natured Schubert and Mozart delight
French pianists battle a noisy audience but the music wins out
The Aurora Orchestra at Kings Place last night showcased both the best and worst things about attending live concerts, with the pros outweighing the cons. Early on, extraneous noise made me long for the pure listening experience of a good pair of headphones, but elsewhere the immediacy and physicality of the live experience was genuinely exciting.
Schubert Ensemble, Kings Place review - spot-on introductions, dazzling performances
Metaphysical ants-in-pants from Martinů and exuberant Dvořák
London Piano Festival, Kings Place review - feasts of fearless fingerwork
A galaxy of great repertoire, world premieres included
Vindauga (Wind Eye) featuring Sam Lee, Kings Place
Encounters to cherish with Norwegian and Scottish players
It’s the seventh Songlines Encounters festival, with musical meetings ranging from Portugal (Thursday’s Ricardo Ribeiro) to India (Friday’s Bollywood Brass Band with South Indian violinist Jyotsna Srikanth).
Wosner, Aurora Orchestra, Collon, Kings Place
Brilliant pianist dazzles, charms and intrigues in a wide-ranging display
For most pianists, playing the Ligeti Piano Concerto would be enough exertion for one night, to be followed by a stiff drink and some down time. Not for the tireless Shai Wosner at Kings Place last night. By the time the Ligeti came along, not only had he already played a Mozart concerto, he then went on to appear in every remaining item in the programme. It was exhausting just to watch – but also exhilarating.
Gerhardt, Aurora Orchestra, Collon, Kings Place
Heart and soul, song and dance, in vivacious 'Cello Unwrapped' launch
What's not to like, or love, would have to be the sensible response to both the opening programme of Kings Place's year-long Cello Unwrapped festival at Kings Place and its life-enhancing execution.
Natalie Clein: 'The cello is part of my being'
The acclaimed musician writes for theartsdesk about her contributions to the year-long Cello Unwrapped season at Kings Place
The cello is so deeply engrained in my fingers, my imagination, it’s part of my being – my life would feel amputated without it. You fall in love with the instrument, the music, and then you embark on the life-long task of trying to get closer to that beguiling musical ideal. That’s the drug, the contract you sign with the devil. Every day I think how lucky I am that I can dive into a score and work at it physically.
The Sixteen, Kings Place
A glorious finish to this year's Choral Pilgrimage
And so it comes to an end. Six months, 33 concerts, and many miles of travelling later, The Sixteen’s annual Choral Pilgrimage is now finished for another year. With so many concerts it’s inevitable that the singers’ relationship to the repertoire evolves and develops; the performances we heard last night will not have been those the audience at St John’s College, Cambridge experienced back in April. So what is the effect of living so intimately with this small handful of works?