Barbican Centre 11 April 2021

Franz Schubert/Franz Liszt - Ave Maria
Frédéric Chopin - Piano Sonata No 3 in B minor
Alberto Ginastera - Three Argentinian Dances
Maurice Ravel - Gaspard de la nuit

Benjamin Grosvenor - piano

What can I say about Benjamin Grosvenor?

Whenever I listen to him play, I never question his 'interpretation' as such because I'm not aware of one; he doesn't seem to force a style or tempo, everything just sounds so 'right' to me. The best compliment I can give is that I'm not listening to a performance, I'm listening to the epicenter of the music.

And what a beautifully curated romantic programme for this streamed recital. I was expecting to be bored by the 'palate cleanser' (his words) that was Ave Maria, if I'm honest. But he managed to elevate its heartfelt emotions to such a level that I couldn't help but feel genuinely moved.

Grosvenor is a master of Chopin without a doubt and here managed to show off some staggering technique combined with his seemingly effortless musicality. Some thunderous dynamics from his choice of the three Steinway D's that were at his disposal for this recital.  There was an interesting film showing his audition of the three instruments.

The great surprise for me was the Ginastera Dances which I thoroughly enjoyed. There's so much invention in the composition especially in terms of the rhythms yet they aren't virtuoso technical indulgences; there are so many ravishing and ripe melodies to enjoy. The ‘Dance of the Artful Herdsman’ provides a dizzying and thrilling climax.

No surprise that I adore his Gaspard - his recent recording is one of the very best, contemporary or historic. How he makes light of the intense demands of the work is just superhuman, as we surrender our senses to the very soul of the music. I wonder what Maurice Ravel would have made of it?

June 30 - Laeiszhalle Hamburg

Bach Partita No. 1 BWV 825  - Akane Sakai 

Vivaldi Concerto for four violins, strings and basso continuo in B minor op. 3 No. 10 - Akiko Suwanai, Tedi Papavrami, Adrian Iliescu, Thomas Lefort, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra

Couperin "Les Ombres Errantes" and " Le Tic-Toc-Choc, ou Les Maillotins" - Iddo Bar-Shaï

Bartók Sonata for two pianos and percussion - Martha Argerich, Nelson Goerner, Alexej Gerassimez, Lukas Böhm

As is often the case, a last minute change of arrangements for a Martha Argerich recital. Having bought my e-ticket I got another email shortly after saying that the programme would be split between today and Saturday! Just hope I can listen then ...

There were other changes to the programme and I was most dissapointed to learn that the excellent violinist Akiko Suwanai would no longer be performing her Debussy. It turned out to be a curiously curated collection of music - three Baroque works followed by some hefty Bartok!  Let's live on the edge a little eh ... 

Pianist Akane Sakai started the concert in great style with what to me was a truly 'authentic' sounding Bach Partita. Such clarity in every note, immaculate timing and perfectly clipped rhythms;  subtle emotions, kept in check. I haven't enjoyed Bach on a modern pianoforte so much previously and this was quite the revelation. She received a lovely round of applause from the distanced live audience. I immediately searched Spotify but couldn't find a Bach recording from her which is a shame indeed.

At this point I should add that the concert was delivered in superb hd sound with stunningly rich and detailed vision; the stage was finely lit and the image with barely a trace of noise puts you right in the room. Bravo to the production team!

Next was the Vivaldi which sadly didn't satisfy in the same way as the Bach. The modern instruments were very bright and brittle with little depth of tone. I found it quite difficult to listen to - it was like something out of the 1970's when we knew no better. In addition to this it felt hurriedly put together, lacking confidence and precision. Timing and intonation seemed to suffer. Compared to the AoAM with Rachel Podger the other night, the less said ...

And then, would you believe more baroque on a modern instrument - Couperin. The first time for me on the pianoforte but I enjoyed an intense and heartfelt performance which was somewhat surprising - you would usually expect a somewhat cooler and more understated performance. Not quite the same rhythmic definition and clarity of the Bach perhaps but most enjoyable nonetheless.

Onto the main event, Bartok, where I didn't have to worry about the age of the instruments LOL.  Enter a dark, brooding, swirling vortex, where everything was alive in such cinematic detail. Starkly powerful with extreme dynamic range. I was entirely gripped and it was fascinating to see the subtleties in the percussion techniques with the two young guys quite superb in their art.

The second movement was like an apparition that comes and goes, such a heady trip!  My god MA still has some power in those fingers and of course that intense musicality - she is of course just beyond wonderful. A truly enrapturing performance from the four - this is how it's done, amazing timing and sense of togetherness.

I found this recording to save for later.

Er, yes!

Ms Suwanai was playing in the Vivaldi but that didn't exactly allow her star to shine - I was expecting her play the Debussy Sonata for Violin and Piano.

We were also expecting MA to play Tchaikovsky's The Seasons that evening but that has now moved to Saturday evening with some Piazzolla.

The Bach and Couperin were last minute 'stand ins'.

Another year, another Summer Concert at the Schonbrunn Palace.

This year the crowds were conspicuous by their absence but we did at least have a modest socially distanced audience.

It's always a concert I enjoy, thanks in no small measure to the excellence of the Vienna Phil who always play with verve and panache, this year under the baton of Daniel Harding.

The highlight must be 'man of the moment' Igor Levit who fearlessly navigates a secure route through 'Rhapsodies on a Theme' ... I particularly enjoy his most dextrous fingerwork in the quieter passages whereby every note is so perfectly delineated at speed, with no blurring of image whatsoever. Thoroughly enthralling from start to finish.

And just to hammer home the VPO's qualities and versatility there's a blast of West Side Story which is raucous and then sumptuous in equal measure. Just a riot of musical colour!

Debussy's 'Prelude a l'apres midi d'une faune' is an all time favourite of mine and here I'm already entranced by the opening flute solo ... So warmly languid, a pastoral idyll that always fires my imagination.

Sadly the TV link is about to expire but the music is here.

Doesn't surprise me in the least Martin.

I don't think they are as interested in PR as certain other orchestras ...

Such a shame I didn't get to see them in Vienna but I will rectify that at some point.

Wow, I am finally back in a concert hall and able to update this thread again.

Tonight was Khatia B at the Barbican and there is a lot to talk about and not just the performance ... Forgive me if I don't write this up for a day or so as I have a one day whirlwind visit to the Isle of Wight and it's going to be a loonngg day ...

Barbican -  Sat 14 May 2022

Khatia Buniatishvili

Erik Satie - Gymnopédie No 1
Frédéric Chopin - Prélude No 4, Op 28
Frédéric Chopin - Scherzo No 3 in C-sharp minor, Op 39
Johann Sebastian Bach - Aria from Suite No 3 in D major, BWV 1068
Franz Schubert - Impromptu No 3, Op 90
Franz Schubert/Franz Liszt - Ständchen
Frédéric Chopin - Polonaise in A-flat major, Op 53
Frédéric Chopin - Mazurka No 4, Op 17
François Couperin - No 5 ‘Les Barricades Mystérieuses’ from Pièces de Clavecin (Book 2)
Johann Sebastian Bach/Franz Liszt - Prelude and Fugue in A minor
Franz Liszt - Consolation No 3, S 172
Franz Liszt/Vladimir Horowitz - Hungarian Rhapsody No 2



Naturally I was looking forward to my first concert in over two years and on a beautifully warm London evening, the Barbican was a complete sell out. How wonderful to see concert goers out in force and so this concert should have really been a celebratory event but it wasn't for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the programme. I had a great sense of deja vu with some very familiar material garnered from all her back catalogue of recordings, which really felt like a "Khatia B's Greatest Hits". What we were treated to was a number of highly introspective works played just so softly, often at "pianissimo" with little by way of contrast or dynamics. Whilst individually a number of these are works that I love, with the Prelude no4 being a goosebumps moment for me, in combination it was just a bit too much of the same hushed soul-searching emotion. I felt I could have done with more drama and dynamics, which we certainly got in spades with the 'Hungarian', which she devoured gleefully with a wonderful relish; it really was thrilling and a much needed adrenalin shot for the recital.  What a shame we had to wait so long!

There was certainly no 'risk taking' in the choice of music and I would have loved to have heard her challenge herself more and in turn give the audience something to think about - this was too much in her comfort zone and too comfortable for us. As a whole there were too many short works, I would have preferred something like a Sonata, then an interval and then a selection of shorter works. I felt she needed something more substantial to get her teeth into and really show her off her incredible range and ability. More light and shade was required and a surprise or two. There was actually only one surprise - the first of two encores was a superb 20th century work, I think, which was a breath of fresh air and I'd like to find out what it was.  Furthermore, a programme with a more exuberant and less internalised feel would have been more appropriate to celebrate concert goers returning in such numbers.  Others may feel differently.

Let's move onto the audience. This was undoubtedly the worst audience I have ever come across at a classical concert. It's not actually difficult to attend a classical concert. You take your seat on time and when the music starts you sit still and **STFU** - it's really that simple!  Instead this is the nonsense I and others had to endure -

1. Inexplicably, there were any number of latecomers admitted long after the concert had started which was an unwelcome distraction.
2. Lots of mobile phones and watches were beeping throughout the concert.
3. People were using phones to take pictures and video during the recital itself, none of which was stopped by stewards.
4. I had a couple of kids sitting in front of me who were constantly whispering to each other - I don't blame them, it's the parents fault.
5. People are allowed to bring drinks and bottles into the hall which meant there was a fairly regular soundtrack of things being dropped or kicked on the floor.
6. I can cope with discreet coughing between works but I remember at one point somebody letting out some unearthly noise, which sounded like it had been dredged up from the pits of Hades. Horrific!
7. As for the rodent who shouted out 'shit' or something he should have been thrown out on his backside without delay.
8. Even though the concert finish wasn't a late one there was an instant exodus which is just so rude and disrespectful to the artist - there were two fine encores they missed out on.

The Barbican seems to have become way too lax and casual about enforcing any kind of common sense rules.  It was amusing that on the bus home we ended up chatting to two people who were just as aghast as we were at these shenanigans.

So not an evening that will linger long in the memory for any good or musical reasons, I am sure there is better to come.

As for her performances, interesting. Especially coming from a diehard fanboy like you, Jules!

The Lebrecht article does mention or imply a personal overlay of meaning related to the challenges of her recent love life.
She has always tended to lay the schmaltz on a bit thickly for me. Perhaps, like Adele, she has finally disappeared up her own bottom.

I think she is certainly at a point now in her career where she needs to move away from this kind of repertoire and do something really fresh. 

In this regard Yuja Wang is streets ahead of KB and has that elusive spark about her playing.  KB isn't lacking in technique or ability but just looks way too 'comfortable' in the romantic repertoire.