Page 326 - Liverpool Philharmonic 22-23 Season Coverage Book

Malin Byström. Blessed with a lyric voice easily able to fly high and low, Byström offers

dramatic punch and body movements. The bold abandon and instrumental finesse of the ROH

Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Soddy is unmissable. Clarity and impact aren’t issues with

the Herod of John Daszak, whose hint of squealing at the top of his voice entirely suits an
odious character so besotted by Salome that he finds ecstasy just from contemplating her teeth

marks in a piece of fruit. Nothing can stop this show being riveting, preposterous, and unseemly,

all at the same time. To October 1

Geoff Brown

Read the full Salome review

LSO/Rattle review — a fitting substitute for the Last Night of the Proms

Simon Rattle’s last season as the London Symphony Orchestra’s music director mounted what

by chance proved a valid alternative to the Last Night of the Proms. Rattle gave us a vivid tour
through the changing moods of Elgar’s Second Symphony although one essential ingredient —

the “nobilmente” characteristic — did slip through his fingers. One problem was the Barbican’s

acoustic, which doesn’t help any instrument to sound noble. As compensation, moments such as

the disruptive section in the scherzo, punched out by the brass with extra kicks from heavy

percussion, carried unusual force. Sun Poem tickled the ears right from its first tentative trumpet
notes, quickly building in momentum and cohesion until the whole orchestra, glinting and

frenetic, raced onwards. This was a night when British music stood proud. Recorded for future

broadcast and streaming

Geoff Brown

Read the full LSO/Rattle review

Philharmonia/Rouvali review — a Prom of roof-raising power

The succulent panache of this rescheduled visit proved that the principal conductor of the

Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali has not wasted time cementing a bond with his
musicians, enabling playing of extreme finesse as well as roof-raising power. The programme

could have been subtitled “Storytelling Through Music”, though the narratives displayed

weren’t always crystal clear. Faced with the seven extracts from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake,

would any novice listener have understood the ballet’s plot? Maybe not, but they should

certainly have appreciated the Philharmonia’s response to the finer points in Tchaikovsky’s
orchestrations, twinkling glockenspiel and all.