Classical CDs Weekly: Brahms, Sibelius, Thomas Wilson

CLASSICAL CDS WEEKLY Brahms with period pianos, Sibelius from Watford and a pair of Scottish symphonies

Brahms with period pianos, Sibelius from Watford and a pair of Scottish symphonies

 

Brahms PrimroseBrahms: The Piano Quartets The Primrose Piano Quartet (Meridian)

Classical CDs Weekly: Brahms, Shostakovich, Johannes Pramsohler

CLASSICAL CDS WEEKLY Brahms, Shostakovich, Johannes Pramsohler

Chamber music inflated, turbulent symphonies and baroque violin concertos

 

Brahms-SchoenbergBrahms, orch. Schoenberg: Piano Quartet No 1 in G minor, Parry: Elegy for Brahms Gävle Symphony Orchestra/Jaime Martín (Ondine)

Classical CDs Weekly: Brahms, Haydn, Sibelius

CLASSICAL CDS Brahms cello richesse, Rabinovich sketches Haydn, Sibelius from Paris

Brahms cello richesse, Rabinovich sketches Haydn, Sibelius from Paris


Brahms FischerBrahms: The Cello Sonatas The Fischer Duo: Norman Fischer (cello), Jeanne Kierman (piano), with Abigail Fischer (mezzo-soprano) (Centaur Records)

Schiff, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, RFH review – antique kit, modern sounds

★★★★ ANDRAS SCHIFF AND THE OAE Antique kit, modern sounds

Instrumental time-travels rejuvenate a Romantic trio

Standing next to the warm brown beast of a piano built by Blüthner in Leipzig in 1867, Sir András Schiff advised his audience last night to clear their minds and ears of preconceptions. He told us that his rendering of Brahms’s first piano concerto – tonight, he will return to play the second – “should be like a first performance”. In reality, he added, that premiere (in 1859) turned out to be “a colossal failure”.

Janine Jansen, Alexander Gavrylyuk, Wigmore Hall review - a totally convincing recital

★★★★★ JANSEN, GAVRYLYUK, WIGMORE HALL A totally convincing recital

A superb duo on commanding form

Can it happen? That one comes away from a concert with the sense that all of the truth, the shape, the beauty and the urgency of some great works from the classical repertoire has been conveyed as well as is humanly possible? That the programme itself has been a completely satisfying and thought-out whole and has held the attention throughout? Yes, it really can.

Trpčeski, RLPO, Petrenko, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall review - one composer, many views

Brahmsfest brings a big spectacular from a dream team

It probably goes without saying that there will be "dream teams" in a football-mad city like Liverpool. What might be a little unusual is that this particular one has long been associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and has turned into one of the most potent marketing forces for the organisation for many a long year. It has nothing to do with the "beautiful game", though.

CBSO, Leleux, Birmingham Town Hall review - oboe extraordinaire

★★★★★ CBSO, LELEUX, TOWN HALL BIRMINGHAM Oboe extraordinaire

Who needs a baton when you've got an oboe? Charisma triumphs in Haydn and Bizet

There’s always a special atmosphere when the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra returns to Birmingham Town Hall, and it’s not just because of the building’s Greek Revival beauty: the gilded sunburst on the ceiling, or the towering, intricately painted mass of the organ, topped with its cameo of Queen Victoria.