It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… It only takes a Nutcracker suite and you’re already getting the milk and cookies ready for Santa.
Joking aside, the LSO programme at the Barbican Hall on 16th October 2014 was very cinematic, starting with an intense Mother Goose suite from Ravel, then moving to Bartok’s Violin Concerto No. 1 featuring Janine Jensen and then a duet with Roman Simovic, to conclude with Act Two from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.
In case you need a little refresher or are new to classical music, here are some videos featuring the programme the LSO played.
Jensen, as the accomplished violinist she is, played with her whole body, using it as an extension of her violin, each breath supporting a note. It was hypnotising to watch and to hear.
Sir Pappano was on top form, waltzing through the music, noisily sucking it up into his lungs and materially chewing it and absorbing it (I recommend watching his facial expressions), and the LSO sounded powerful and harmonious.
For more on classical music I recommend my article on itcher magazine.