Weather Morning: 7°c Mostly cloudy Afternoon: 8°c Sunny spells

Music

London,

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Haitink

Description: The Dutch ensemble presents three popular pieces, Mozart's Symphony No 35 In D, Beethoven's Symphony No 7 In A, Op 92 and Debussy's La Mer.



Rating: 5 out of 5 Barry Millington's rating
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Reader rating

Your rating

one star two star three star four star five star

Click on a star to rate

Barbican Hall, Barbican Centre Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS

Phone: 0845120 7500

Website: www.barbican.org.uk

Email: info@barbican.org.uk

Opening hours:

Extra info: Food, Parking, Pub

Transport: Tube/BR: Moorgate/Barbican Transport for London

Solid blocks from Haitink

Haitink
Outstanding performance: Haitink conducts

By Barry Millington
16 Mar 2009


The weekend visit of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra came hard on the heels of the welcome announcement that the Amsterdam-based ensemble would be spending more time at the Barbican in occasional residencies.

It is always an instructive pleasure to hear this world-class orchestra, with its perfectly blended brass and wind — not to mention the richly endowed strings.

In the second of their two concerts under Bernard Haitink they offered the magnificent torso of Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony, prefaced by Schumann’s Piano Concerto. The soloist for the latter was an artist who can be relied on to bring a musical quality as immaculate as that of the Concertgebouw: Murray Perahia.

Haitink’s Bruckner is very much a known quantity, carving great edifices of sound out of solid blocks. The cliché that Bruckner’s symphonies are like vast cathedrals is never truer than when Haitink is in charge.

If the first two movements provided the bricks and mortar and the overarching structure, the Adagio finale flooded the space with light and provided the spiritual dimension. Velvet-toned, superbly controlled brass, not least the normally intractable Wagner tubas, made their invaluable contribution.

It’s not the only way to do Bruckner, but Haitink, in being true to himself, is irrefutably persuasive. As the imposing architecture takes shape in response to his unerring baton, one is inclined to think: this is how it should be.

That, after all, is the mark of an outstanding performance. Let us hope the residencies bring us many more.

Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.

Reader views (0)

 Add your view

No comments have so far been submitted.


Add your comment

 

Terms and conditions Make text area bigger You have  characters left.

We welcome your opinions. This is a public forum. Libellous and abusive comments are not allowed. Please read our House Rules.

For information about privacy and cookies please read our Privacy Policy.


 

Music top five
Cher Lloyd
Cher Lloyd

IndigO2
SE10
Apr 8, 7pm

Chris Rea

HMV Apollo
W6
Apr 5, 6.30pm

Miles Kane

HMV Forum
NW5
Apr 28, 7.30pm

Example

The O2 Arena
SE10
Apr 27, 6.30pm

Lightning Seeds

02 Shepherd's Bush Empire
W12
Feb 18, 7pm