Johanna Roberts, Author at North West End UK

23Oct

By Johanna RobertsNo Comments

North West

Breaking the Code – Liverpool Playhouse

Occasionally, a production comes along that is so remarkable on so many levels you know it is going to stay with you for a very long time, and the current production of Hugh Whitemore’s Breaking the Code fits that bill. I say ‘current production’, as I first saw this in London with Derek Jacobi, so my expectations were understandably high. However, this revived production surpassed all those expectations and then some. While the central element of Turing’s life is his work at Bletchley Park in breaking the Enigma code, the play reaches back into his boyhood and afterwards to his life as an academic to explore what inspired his brilliance at mathematics and cyphers and how society’s attitude towards his homosexuality drove him to suicide. The first two scenes, where the action jumps f...

Shostakovich Symphony No. 7 – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir

20Oct

By Johanna RobertsNo Comments

North West

Shostakovich Symphony No. 7 – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir

This afternoon saw Vasiliy Petrenko making one of his welcome returns to the Philharmonic Hall, this time to conduct the orchestra in three pieces: Liadovs’s Baba-Yaga; Haydn’s Concerto in D Major for Cello and Orchestra (following a change in programme) and Shostakovich’s monumental Symphony No. 7. Baba-Yaga, while lasting only three minutes, gave the orchestra ample opportunity to demonstrate their flair for storytelling, creating drama and tension to convey the menace of the iron-toothed witch stalking the forest in search of human children to eat, though the final chord suggests that – this time at least – her prey escaped. While the original programme had scheduled a concerto by the Russian-born composer Victoria Borisova-Ollas, reduced rehearsal time due to the breakdown of the...

Sibelius Symphony No. 5 – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

13Oct

By Johanna RobertsNo Comments

North West

Sibelius Symphony No. 5 – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

This evening’s concert at the Philharmonic, with the orchestra ably led by conductor Geoffrey Paterson, was a clear demonstration of the importance of and the Philharmonic’s commitment to offering new or lesser-known pieces alongside those more familiar to or popular with audiences. The performance opened with a short piece –Boccherino’s Ritirata notturna de Madrid, composed in 1780 to evoke the sounds of the band passing as the City Watch retired from the streets. Nearly two centuries later, Luciano Berios superimposed Boccherino’s different arrangements of his original piece to create a new work that retains the essential elements of Boccherino’s music but with a modern twist. The audience heard the sound develop from the quiet roll of the drum with the gradual introduction of the dif...

Season Opening Concert: Dream Team at Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool

19Sep

By Johanna RobertsNo Comments

North West

Season Opening Concert: Dream Team at Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s season began tonight with a bold statement of intent by conductor Domingo Hindoyan, who welcomed the audience to the new season by asking them to “Cheer new composers and composers you’ve never heard of before in your life” as well as enjoying old favourites, and it is a mark of Hindoyan’s talent that while new pieces are clearly exciting and innovative, he can make familiar pieces seem fresh and draw out new insights from the orchestra. Tonight’s concert was no exception, demonstrating an orchestra and conductor at the height of their powers. The programme was very similar to that of the orchestra’s offering at the BBC proms this year, with the one change being Roldán’s La Remambaramba as the opening piece. The work by the Afro-Cuban compose...

Measure for Measure – Shakespeare North Playhouse

8Aug

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North West

Measure for Measure – Shakespeare North Playhouse

So, how to approach Shakespeare’s plays at time when his work is easily accessible, in written or recorded format, and when every word and nuance has been studied in depth? How to reproduce the spontaneity, the freshness of experiencing the play as if it were for the first time? The answer, according to Shake-Scene Shakespeare, is to use cue-based performance. Originally, rather than each actor having a copy of the entire play, they had only their own part and their cues, plus any direction of when to enter or leave. Reproducing this technique means actors and audience ‘discover’ the play at the same time. Does it work? Based on this production of Measure for Measure, yes. Absolutely. Briefly, the Duke of Vienna (Eugenia Lowe) has allowed the city to become corrupt, so pretends to g...

Mahler Symphony No. 3 – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

2Apr

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North West

Mahler Symphony No. 3 – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

While I’m familiar with Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 from recordings, this was my first time hearing the concert played live, so I was curious as to what the difference would be. Put simply, the difference was astonishing. The symphony is frequently described as ‘epic’, and the sheer size of the orchestra on the stage at the Philharmonic Hall was an indication of what was in store with an air of excited anticipation in the hall. Lasting approximately 90 minutes, the work is divided into six movements, with the central movements bookended by monolithic first and final movements. Mahler’s aim was to reflect on man’s relationship with the natural world, and initially, each movement had a title intimating its focus. While these are useful as guides, it is perhaps better to meet the music on i...

22Mar

By Johanna RobertsNo Comments

North West

Erocia – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

‘Dazzling’ was the first word that came to mind as Veronika Eberle played Beethoven’s violin concerto with the RLPO last night, but others, such as ‘breathtaking’ and extraordinary’ were not far behind. Despite an initially poor reception at its premiere in 1806, Beethoven’s concerto has since been acknowledged as one of the greatest pieces for the instrument. The orchestra, under Hindoyan’s direction, from the delicacy of the first five beats of the timpani to the final dramatic conclusion moved seamlessly from the tension of the rising scales to filigree lightness in the quieter sections, highlighting the relationship between orchestra and soloist. Eberle more than does justice to the music’s melodic lyricism with a tone that is both pure and warm and a virtuosity that, while demonstrati...

23Jan

By Johanna RobertsNo Comments

North West

Ensemble 10:10 – Tung Auditorium

The audience at the Tung Auditorium were treated to what can only be described as a remarkable concert with several notable firsts. This was Domingo Hindoyan’s debut conducting Ensemble 10:10. Ensemble 10:10, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2022 and became resident at the Tung Auditorium in the same year, was established by members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to showcase new music and to offer support to new composers, particularly those from the North West. With this in mind, last night’s concert began with the world premiere of a piece by Sam Kane, winner of the Rushworth Composition Prize in 2023. The Rushworth Foundation set up the prize in 2015 to nurture new talent and to support the commissioning and performance of new music. Danu’s Rhapsody demonstrates K...

Bernstein, Barber and Glass – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

18Jan

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North West

Bernstein, Barber and Glass – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Young said in an interview on KALW in 2023 that he wants his shows to be ‘not only accessible but relatable’, as there is ‘music out there with which the audience may not be familiar’. This all-American programme, which sees a selection of dances from Bernstein’s West Side Story and On the Town combined with works by Barber and Glass not only reflected this ethos but also clearly demonstrated why Young is one of the most compelling conductors of the current day. Young, who in his youth was surrounded by band and gospel music, knew he wanted to be a conductor from the age of 16. Barber, whose family included several famous musicians, was even younger in deciding his future in music, telling his mother at the age of 7 that he wanted to be a composer. His earlier style is characterised...

14Jan

By Johanna RobertsNo Comments

North West

Handel’s Messiah – Philharmonic Hall

What better way to shake of the Christmas/New Year blues than with the performance of Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall in a tradition dating back to 1849. Handel composed the oratorio in a mere 24 days in 1741, but despite a warm reception at its premiere in Dublin, it received a cooler response at its subsequent performance in London. Nonetheless, it has since become one of the jewels of English classical music, and the light shone upon it by each conductor reveals new facets and highlights different elements, and it never fails to sparkle. Photo: Gareth Jones This year’s performance saw baritone Ben Appl, a former BBC New Generation Artist (2014-16) and current Artist in Residence at the Philharmonic, making his conducting debut. He introduced the piece ...