Three more 'B's and a lady conductor![]() Facetiousness aside, the London Philharmonic and Ms. Alsop were on fine form for the three works. Benjamin Britten's Variations of a Theme of Frank Bridge is for string orchestra and was written when the composer was 23: the variations include parodies of a Viennese waltz, a funeral march and an Italina aria and end with a Fugue. Samuel Barber's violin concerto was written in 1939 and has established itself in the repertoire: the lyrical first two movements are capped with a dazzling finale. (You can hear brief extracts on this Amazon.com page.) It was played with affection and skill by Yossif Ivanov, who capped his performance with an encore - a spectacular piece including double-and triple stopping: of course as it was an encore I don't know what it was. [UPDATE: a reader has kindly identified this as Ballade by Eugenè Ysaye.] The concert ended with Beethoven's Seventh Symphony. For my taste the first and last movements were just a fraction too fast; and as always I felt that the large modern orchestra was a little heavy for the work: but it was an enjoyable performance with a rousing finale. Posted: Sat - April 14, 2007 at 07:53 AM by Roger Wilmut |
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Total entries in this category: Published On: Mar 11, 2016 05:00 PM |