Category Orchestra

REVIEW: Liverpool Philharmonic: The Planets

Reading Time: 2 minutes It's always wonderful to experience the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic orchestra in full voice, and last night's performance of Gustav Holst's The Planets was no exception. Two shorter pieces by Walton and Bliss made up the first part of the evening's programme, with the main event of the planets taking centre stage post-interval. The orchestra - the full scope of which included two harps, the celeste, two sets of timpani, and tubular bells - was headed by Guest Conductor Andrew Manze, an animated stage presence with distinctive gesticulation. 

REVIEW: Sinfonia Smith Square: The Orchestral Forest

Reading Time: 3 minutesCreative Director Matt Belcher’s vision for The Orchestral Forest sees the audience experiencing a classical concert from within, free to wander between the ‘trees’, our orchestra blooming from scattered podiums across Sinfonia Smith Square’s hall. The programme celebrates the hidden beauty of the UK’s ancient rainforests, with Belcher’s guide to the performance informing us that at one time, ‘as much as 20% of the UK was covered in temperate rainforest. Today, as little as 0.07% remains. Most have been replaced by conifer plantations – dense, silent monocultures that are intensively grown and felled on repeat…as a result, these forests are now among the rarest and most vulnerable in the world.’

REVIEW: The Rest is History: Mozart and Beethoven with Live Orchestra

Reading Time: 2 minutesWell received by millions, The Rest Is History is a popular podcast that delves into fascinating historical events and figures with a lively, conversational approach. This time at the Royal Albert Hall, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the lives of two most famous composers throughout history: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven.

REVIEW: Kirill Richter & Richter Trio: Sands of Time

Reading Time: 2 minutesThe Sands of Time is such a well curated concert that showcases Richter both as a composer and pianist. It has two parts: Part I is performed by the Richter Trio, including twelve pieces, with many of them from his latest album Chronos. Alena Zinovieva (violin) and August Krepak (cello) are both renowned musicians who have literally played everything, from Bach to Silvestrov, and they chose to explore music's infinity with Richter.