Classical
This concert marked the debut of German conductor Ingo Metzmacher with the London Symphony Orchestra, an acknowledged champion of contemporary composers. It opened with Hartmann's Fifth Symphony - a reworking of his earlier Concerto for Wind Ensemble, Double Basses and Two Solo Trumpets - described as a show-piece for wind and brass. Metzmacher is an acknowledged interpreter of Hartmann's compositions (he has recorded the complete symphonies with his own orchestra) but despite the immaculate playing and taut conducting, the work remained, for me at least, a little uninspiring. Nonetheless, it was an appropriate opening taster for the Stravinsky to come, as the work borrows material and ideas from the Rite of Spring. ...
Music: Music
When Sigur Ros first appeared on British shores they managed to bring with them a sound that was unmistakably that of Iceland. Now it is the turn of the Norwegians to share their homeland with us, in the form of this ambient package. Though Kings of Convenience may have brought attention back to that corner of Scandinavia in the last year, they did not quite capture the natural feel of the snow, forests and fjords in the same manner, soft and touching though their debut was. With Melody A.M., Royksopp seem to have found the perfect soundtrack to a winter wonderland, full of warmth and vibrancy within, but also possessing a haunting awareness of the frost lying outside....