July 2012

Swing Symphony - Sir Simon Rattle/Wynton Marsalis/Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra

Wed 25 & Thu 26 Jul 2012, Barbican

Financial Times, 27 Jul 2012
Marsalis also writes lovely melodies, and as motifs zipped from woodwind to strings, burst into fragments or became film-score lush, the riches of a lead sax over Ellingtonian brass stood out. And the trumpeter, buried in the centre of the combined orchestras, delivered a sprightly chorus and a quiet final cadenza for a low-key finish.
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Classical Music Magazine, 27 Jul 2012
The interplay between symphony orchestra and big band was handled as if it were that most natural thing in the world; the harmonies were lush and the solos dazzling.
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The Guardian, 27 Jul 2012
Throughout, the orchestral writing proved inventive and often brilliantly effective, with beautifully spaced string textures shot through with rampant interventions from the brass and some debonair splashes of percussion, the whole finally coming gently and delicately to rest on a breezy downbeat sigh.
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Evening Standard, 26 Jul 2012
as so often in this sort of event, the classical performers seemed to be having the most fun.
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Daily Telegraph, 26 Jul 2012
There were fine solos from the band, including a deliciously liquid turn from baritone sax player Joe Temperley and a stratospheric trumpet dance from Marcus Printup. Marsalis gave the orchestral players a chance to shine, too, with solo spots for the timpanist (which brought approving glances from the band), and principal cellist. The five saxophonists and the cello section shared a duskily beautiful slow swing. In all it was a fitting climax to the residency, which has given us food for thought as well as joy.
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The Arts Desk, 26 Jul 2012
This was a genuine coming together where all hands contributed equally to the rhythmic, harmonic and melodic detail of the work. And talking of melody, the one that Marsalis penned for the orchestral bass section – it doesn't happen as often as you'd think – in the penultimate movement was another of the work's many remarkable moments.
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Classical Source, 26 Jul 2012
Expert solo work from the LSO also typified Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances – the central section of the opening movement was exquisitely dovetailed in the wind section – and Rattle teased out detail and colour at every turn. He may, inauthentically, have allowed the gong to die away at the end, but it was worth it for the collective holding of breath before the applause.
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Debussy/Ravel/Dutilleux - Valery Gergiev/Renée Fleming

Sun 15 Jul 2012, Barbican

Financial Times, 17 Jul 2012
Against the backdrop of his enigmatic orchestration, adorned by an accordion and the old-world tinkling of a harpsichord, Fleming made the poems come alive with detail, hinting at great truths just out of reach.
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The Times, 18 Jul 2012
The LSO’s principal flute cooled the quivering excitement within Fleming’s voice with exquisitely Gallic playing in La flute enchantée. And, for the seduction of L’indifferent, the warm breath of cellos and violas enfolded Fleming’s long, supple line of thought.
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The Guardian, 18 Jul 2012
Fleming's second offering of the evening was Ravel's Shéhérazade; another great performance in which eroticism and artifice were held in perfect balance, both vocally and orchestrally.
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Classical Source, 16 Jul 2012
This was a thrills and spills performance with much that was exciting and theatrically explicit. Certainly the opening pulsated with life, precision slightly sacrificed for rapacious vigour. Gergiev has rarely been so animated on the podium (both feet of the ground a few times), really enjoying music that has been a part of his repertoire for years, the LSO playing with flair (characterful solos from piano, flute, trumpet and bassoon).
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UBS Soundscapes: Eclectica - Conexions

Tue 10 Jul 2012, LSO St Luke's

The Arts Desk, 11 Jul 2012
Seglem’s diversion into the animalistic was short, but it helped define last night. The union of Christian Wallumrød, Seglem and Garth Knox was about evocation rather than melody.
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Gilberto Gil/Francois-Xavier Roth

Wed 4 Jul 2012, Barbican

The Times, 6 Jul 2012
If much of the set struck a mellow, acoustic note, the singer-guitarist’s collaboration with the LSO sparkled...
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Classical Source, 6 Jul 2012
François-Xavier Roth led the LSO through the repeated bass rhythms and striking orchestration of ‘Dança frenetica’ with a light touch.
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