Latest news with #SymphonieFantastique
The Guardian
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Berlioz and Ravel album review – his orchestra is responsive to Mäkelä's every move
Klaus Mäkelä and the Orchestre de Paris gave an unforgettable performance of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique at the BBC Proms last September, the electric atmosphere of which is not quite replicated on this recording, made in Paris a few months later. It's all played with consummate skill by an orchestra who are clearly responsive to their conductor's every move, as they were in Royal Albert Hall, and Mäkelä's shaping of Berlioz's music, from the gentle, vibratoless violins at the beginning to the careering witches' dance of the finale, remains highly coloured and full of impact. Yet it all feels a little clinical; the edge-of-the-seat excitement is missing. Perhaps it has been engineered out: the sound feels over-tweaked, and although the spatial effects at the beginning of the third movement – with the cor anglais duetting with a faraway oboe – come over beautifully, elsewhere it sometimes feels as though we're being shown exactly what to listen to. The symphony is paired with Ravel's La Valse, which fares better: the orchestra are again on sparkling form but here the energy keeps on fizzing. Mäkelä keeps the tempo whirling and the momentum rising; by the end the whole thing feels held together by centrifugal force alone. This article includes content hosted on We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. Listen on Apple Music (above) or Spotify
Calgary Herald
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Review: Rune Bergmann gives exemplary farewell to orchestra and city
Article content Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Article content It was a night of finales and farewells. On the last weekend in May, the CPO performed its final pair of concerts of the current season, a season with many highlights (including this one) and with 40 sold-out performances, a company first. Recovering from near bankruptcy some years ago, the CPO is now enjoying some of the strongest support it has had in many years. Article content Article content At least some of the reason for this lies in the astute programming, but perhaps even more lies in the new manner of presentation, not the least by its outgoing conductor, Rune Bergmann, whose smiling face and manner have signalled to all that classical concerts can be both serious and simple fun. Article content Article content Bergmann has been with the orchestra for nine years, which includes the difficult years of COVID-19. It hasn't been easy to bring audiences back, but Bergmann persevered and has led the orchestra in delicate performances of works by Mozart as well as monumental symphonies by Mahler. Article content And it was with Mahler, specifically Mahler's popular Second Symphony (Resurrection), that Bergmann chose to conclude his time with the orchestra. A symphony about farewells, it is also about hope and new life. It is also a symphony by which to measure the growth in the performing stature of the orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus, both of which are enjoying a period in which a great many of their recent concerts have been of a very high level. Article content Just this past season, the orchestra performed a splashy Carmina Burana to open its season (also with the CPO Chorus), with concerts featuring world-famous soloists like Jonathan Biss and Honens winner Nicolas Namoradze. It also gave superb performances of Mozart and Elgar with Bergmann at the helm, and a wonderful Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz. String soloists were not ignored either, with outstanding performances by violinists James Ehnes and Diana Cohen, and recently a sold-out appearance with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Article content This list of accomplishments, together with an earlier Beethoven symphony and concerto cycle and several Mahler symphonies, including an impressive performance of the Third Symphony, gives an indication of the wide range of music performed, and with impressive surety and confidence. Article content These qualities marked Bergmann's final appearance with the orchestra. One could only marvel at the authority of the opening cello section solo, as well as the numerous solo turns given to the wind and brass players (especially the solo trumpet of Adam Zinatelli). The percussion section whipped up a storm, and the chorus sang with hushed emotion and, in the final moment, with dramatic grandeur.
Calgary Herald
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Review:
Article content Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Article content It was a night of finales and farewells. On the last weekend in May, the CPO performed its final pair of concerts of the current season, a season with many highlights (including this one) and with 40 sold-out performances, a company first. Recovering from near bankruptcy some years ago, the CPO is now enjoying some of the strongest support it has had in many years. Article content Article content Article content At least some of the reason for this lies in the astute programming, but perhaps even more lies in the new manner of presentation, not the least by its outgoing conductor, Rune Bergmann, whose smiling face and manner have signalled to all that classical concerts can be both serious and simple fun. Article content Article content Bergmann has been with the orchestra for nine years, which includes the difficult years of COVID-19. It hasn't been easy to bring audiences back, but Bergmann persevered and has led the orchestra in delicate performances of works by Mozart as well as monumental symphonies by Mahler. Article content And it was with Mahler, specifically Mahler's popular Second Symphony (Resurrection), that Bergmann chose to conclude his time with the orchestra. A symphony about farewells, it is also about hope and new life. It is also a symphony by which to measure the growth in the performing stature of the orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus, both of which are enjoying a period in which a great many of their recent concerts have been of a very high level. Article content Article content Just this past season, the orchestra performed a splashy Carmina Burana to open its season (also with the CPO Chorus), with concerts featuring world-famous soloists like Jonathan Biss and Honens winner Nicolas Namoradze. It also gave superb performances of Mozart and Elgar with Bergmann at the helm, and a wonderful Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz. String soloists were not ignored either, with outstanding performances by violinists James Ehnes and Diana Cohen, and recently a sold-out appearance with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Article content This list of accomplishments, together with an earlier Beethoven symphony and concerto cycle and several Mahler symphonies, including an impressive performance of the Third Symphony, gives an indication of the wide range of music performed, and with impressive surety and confidence. Article content These qualities marked Bergmann's final appearance with the orchestra. One could only marvel at the authority of the opening cello section solo, as well as the numerous solo turns given to the wind and brass players (especially the solo trumpet of Adam Zinatelli). The percussion section whipped up a storm, and the chorus sang with hushed emotion and, in the final moment, with dramatic grandeur.
