Quatuor Danel review — I was agog with wonder at the finesse and delicacy
Three Soviet string quartets of the 1970s: it may suggest the kind of challenging concert where the only blast of jollity comes from enjoying an ice cream during the interval. Yet leaving Wigmore Hall, I felt exhilarated, practically walking on air.
The music itself (the composers were Mieczyslaw Weinberg and Shostakovich) certainly played some part in this. But the evening's dominating pleasure was the brilliance of Quatuor Danel, four mostly French musicians of varying ages and heights, long resident at Manchester University, who displayed such heightened finesse, such thorough commitment, such exquisite delicacy, such roaring fury — anything their music required — that I sat agog with wonder.
Take the cellist Yovan Markovitch. Fastidious but heartfelt, his head rarely still, he buttoned our ears
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
31 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Aurora Orchestra/Collon review – Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony gets the look-mum-no-music treatment
It's 11 years since Aurora Orchestra first performed a symphony from memory at the BBC Proms. The irrepressibly energetic ensemble has been transfixing audiences with collective tightrope walks ever since. This year – 50 years since the composer's death – Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony came in for the look-mum-no-music treatment. To be clear, the memorisation element is a red herring, not in itself guaranteeing a satisfying performance. That depends on interpretation and rehearsal technique. What memorising a piece on the scale of Shostakovich's monumental Fifth does mean, however, is that every musician knows the work inside out, in all its 3D complexity – and every musician (whether a rank-and-file violin or a woodwind principal) is equally exposed. The result was a high-intensity, high-impact performance. The volume dropped from blistering climaxes to pianissimo whispers as if the musicians had hurtled off a cliff. The tone ranged from the rudely rustic (all biting strings and gritty dollops of brass) in the Scherzo to a single silken thread spun slowly into a finely shimmering fabric in the Largo. Conductor Nicholas Collon whipped tutti passages into a frenzy but left this orchestra of soloists to craft their own moments in the spotlight. The coordination was military-grade, the finale's close a searing, passionate catharsis. The standing ovation felt inevitable. But it was also inflected by the preceding 'musical and dramatical exploration', a collaboration with Frantic Assembly. Actor/dancer Max Revell was a silent, knock-kneed Shostakovich, prone to physical collapse as his Soviet credentials were scrutinised by a three-person committee. Collon introduced the Fifth Symphony (cue live musical extracts) as Shostakovich's response to recent condemnation from Stalin himself: first arguing for the composer's political rehabilitation, then suggesting a counter-reading. Demonstrating in real time how musical meaning is flexible, always subjective, was virtuosic indeed and a final loosening of gravity's grasp on the musicians themselves (upended by dancers as they played) was spectacular. But repressive regimes and artistic censorship are not historical curiosities – and sudden changes of state policy towards the arts are all too familiar. Poking fun at the committee's arbitrary preferences and presenting Shostakovich as devoid of agency told its own disappointingly cosy story. At Usher Hall, Edinburgh, on 18 August. Listen again on BBC Sounds until 12 October. The Proms continue until 13 September
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
In pictures: Joyous scenes as Oasis thrill fans at Croke Park
There were joyous scenes at Croke Park on Saturday night as Oasis made a triumphant return to Ireland with their first show here in 16 years. The 90s Britpop superstars performed to 80,000 people at Croke Park on Saturday and will do it all again on Sunday night. Advertisement Fans who have been lucky enough to take in their gigs so far - in Manchester, Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, and now Dublin - have noted the Gallagher brothers' emotion on stage. This was evident again at Croke Park as Noel and Liam looked delighted to be playing together again. Liam Gallagher told the crowd: 'You've been missed as well – you lunatics.' He also paid tribute to Charlestown, Co Mayo, where his mother hails from. He also dedicated Stand By Me to their mother Peggy, who was in attednance at GAA HQ. The set list was full of the band's hits including Acquiesce, Some Might Say, Cigarettes & Alcohol and Supersonic. Oasis saved the best for last finishing up with three of their biggest hits Don't Look Back in Anger, Wonderwall, and Champagne Supernova. You can read our review of the concert here . For a flavour of the joyous scenes, and what to expect tonight, check out this gallery of pictures from the night. Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis at Croke Park. Photograph: Harriet TK Bols/Big Brother Recordings Oasis on stage at Croke Park on Saturday. Photograph: Big Brother Recordings Noel Gallagher of Oasis at Croke Park. Photograph: Harriet TK Bols/Big Brother Recordings Liam Gallagher of Oasis at Croke Park. Photograph: Harriet TK Bols/Big Brother Recordings Oasis fans, Johnny Fitzpatrick, Mark O'Shea, Anto Kelly, and Shannon Doyle, outside Croke Park, ahead of the first night of the Oasis Live '25 tour in Dublin. Photo: Cillian Sherlock/PA Images Oasis fans, Sarah and Neil Charlton who have travelled from Southampton for the gig, outside Croke Park, ahead of the first night of the Oasis Live '25 tour in Dublin. Photo: Cillian Sherlock/PA Images Oasis fans, Anthony and Tara Hayes (back left and right) with Paudie and Nicky Hayes (front left and right), outside Croke Park, ahead of the first night of the Oasis Live '25 tour in Dublin. Photo: Cillian Sherlock/PA Images Oasis fans, Lisa and Alan Roe from Dublin, outside Croke Park, ahead of the first night of the Oasis Live '25 tour in Dublin. Photo: Cillian Sherlock/PA Images Oasis fans, Mary O'Connor from Cork (left) and Sinead Millea, from Kilkenny, outside Croke Park, ahead of the first night of the Oasis Live '25 tour in Dublin. Photo: Cillian Sherlock/PA Images Oasis fans, Lisa and Eoin Whelan from Newcastlewest, outside Croke Park, ahead of the first night of the Oasis Live '25 tour in Dublin. Photo: Cillian Sherlock/PA Images
BreakingNews.ie
4 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Oasis review: The band were great, the service was not
I was never supposed to go to Oasis. It was a fluke of the ages. I tried to get tickets when they were released, like most others in the country, but failed, also like most others in the country. I knew they were gold dust, and had given up hope. Advertisement But when I woke up on Saturday morning, I had a text offering me a ticket. Lo and behold, my cousin could no longer go. Knowing I live in Dublin, she offered it to me. And who was I to say no? So, a few hours later, I was on my way to Croke Park. Who'd have thought, right? Not me. Everyone was in great form. In the upper Cusack Tier it seemed to just be gangs of old school friends living out a fantasy. Advertisement The support was great. Richard Ashcroft from The Verve played a belter of a set, finishing off with Bittersweet Symphony, getting the crowd on their feet and setting the scene for the night ahead. Because that's what the night was, a Bittersweet Symphony, truth be told. Don't get me wrong, Oasis were great. There wasn't much talking between the brothers, but did anyone expect that. There was a brief embrace towards the end of the night before the encore. But it was clear to every one of the 80,000 in Croke Park on Saturday that the brothers, Liam and Noel, were happy to be back on stage, singing with each other, to a crowd that knew every word. However, it must be said that at least on the upper levels, the bar service was less than ideal. Advertisement I didn't go to the concert to get drunk, but even getting a soft drink would have been difficult. After Ashcroft finished, I, like most of the attendees, went to grab a drink before the main act. What I did not expect, however, was to be waiting an hour for said drink and missing the Gallagher brothers arrival onstage in Ireland for the first time since 2009, and subsequently miss the first three and a half songs. Personally, I was okay with this, because it was pure chance that I got to be at the concert. But amongst the throngs queueing with me were people who paid several hundred if not thousands of euros for their tickets and who missed that opening moment. One man behind me, when Morning Glory began, said, "Great, that's literally the reason I came to this gig." Advertisement There were no pints poured in advance until Oasis had taken to the stage. Anyone who has worked in a busy bar before knows that when it is busy, and when the demographic is mainly pint drinkers, the pints must be poured in advance, not to order. The people I spoke to in the queue for the bar said the same. When the woman in front of me ordered her drink, the barman disappeared for seven or so minutes. She said it to the barman at the till beside us, and he served her instead. When the disappearing barman reappeared, he took my order, then gave drinks to the woman behind me and let her pay before I got my drinks. (She got beer, I got Smirnoff Ice, so no - it wasn't a mix-up.) In short, it felt as though Croke Park could have been better prepared for the influx of people there. Hopefully, these teething issues will be ironed out before Sunday's gig. Yet Croke Park is supposedly not a novice to hosting events. There should not be teething problems for a venue this long in the tooth. Advertisement Of course, this is not the fault of the Gallagher brothers. To be fair, they were great. Save for the people I met at the bar, everyone was just extremely happy to be there. Men were videocalling their young daughters to let them hear the backing track to their parents' youth, while others were time-warped back to their teens. There were couples reliving their first dance songs live, transported back to sweaty discos in the late '90s. This was nostalgia writ large. Roll With It was dedicated to those from Charlestown, Co Mayo, hometown of the Gallagher brothers' mother. On this night at least, Mayo were champions in Croke Park. Oasis delivered, and even for those who spent exorbitant sums on tickets, they could not complain that they were ill-served. Unless they happened to want a drink. An encore featuring The Masterplan, Don't Look Back in Anger, Wonderwall, and Champagne Supernova would have been enough to get this attendee to pay €500 for a ticket alone. Don't Look Back in Anger, they said. And a Champagne Supernova it definitely was. Just don't try and order it from the bar.
