“Schon nach den ersten Takten von Michail Glinkas Ouvertüre zu ‘Ruslan und Ljudmila’ war klar: Hier wird auf höchstem Niveau musiziert. Die Streicherpartien können rasant sein, wie sie wollen. Sie sind stets von frappierender Einmütigkeit. Den Holzbläsersatz zeichnet erlesene Noblesse aus, während den vier Hornisten ein derart suggestiver Verschmelzungsgrad gelingt, dass auch die zartesten Passagen einnehmend präsent geraten und den Gesamtklang des Orchesters mit bezaubernder Patina überziehen.”

“Man wird lange warten müssen, bis Dvoraks Neunte in solch vollendeter Manier den Bielefeldern erneut geboten wird.”

 Bielefeld-Mitte, 23 January 2012

“The first few bars of Michail Glinkas overture to “Ruslan und Ludmilla” made it immediately clear: this is music at its finest. The string parts can be as fast-paced as they please, they are always played with striking unanimity. The wind section is characterized by an extraordinary elegance, while the voices of the four horns merge to such a degree that even the most delicate passages are rendered with an engaging strength and lends a magical gloss to the tone of the entire orchestra.”

“The people of Bielefeld face a long wait to hear Dvorak’s ninth played at such a degree of perfection once again.”

Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, 24 January 2012

“Die Auftrittsqualität des Orchesters ist superb…Diese glasklase, schlanke Präzision und Brillianz, die wie mit der Nadel gezogenen Streicherläufe, die gelassenen Punktlandungen der Bläser- das alles ist wunderbar und, zumindest auf dieses Repertoire bezogen, kaum besser zu machen.”

Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, 24 January 2012

“The standard at which this orchestra plays is superb…they have a crystal clear precision and brilliance. The string parts are as exact as if they had been played with the tip of a needle, the wind and brass play with a serene accuracy. Their performance is marvellous and, certainly for this repertoire, could hardly be improved upon.”

Kölnische Rundschau, 24 January 2012

“Sir Neville Marriner ist auch mit 87 noch jung…Bei Sir Neville gibt es keinen gebremsten Alterstil. Ein wirbelndes Klarinetten-Themasofort Fahrt aufnimmt. Ein Bravo dem agilen Academy-solisten.”

“Insgesamt verzauberte die Interpretation durch reiche Klanggebung, wobel der aparte Kontrast von Frische und Melancholie ausgewogen präesentiert wurde.”

Kölnische Rundschau, 24 January 2012

“Sir Neville Marriner is 87 years young and shows no sign of slowing down with age. A swirling clarinet melody picks up speed without hesitation. The skilful Academy soloists deserve warm congratulation.

“Their performance enchanted the audience with rich sonority which nevertheless managed to convey the striking contrast between freshness and melancholy.”

Westdeutsche Zeitung, 19 January 2012

“Darbietung besitzt jenen Grad an Profil und wahrhaftigem Gefühl, bei dem der Hörer den Eindruck bekommt, als höore er alles neu. Von solcher Charakterstärke ist die Musizierweise der Academy.”

“Vor allem das melancholische Largo mit sienem Englischhorn-Solo zog in den Bann. Wie im Finalsatz ein Kulminationspunkt erreicht und wieder verlassen wird, wie Tempo und Dynamik in einer wundervollen Phrase zurückgenommen warden – das ist große Kunst.”

Westdeutsche Zeitung, 19 January 2012

“The orchestra’s performance conveys such a degree of variety and true feeling that the listener has the impression of hearing the music for the first time. This is the strength of character with which the Academy plays.”

“The melancholic largo with its cor anglais solo transfixes the listener. The way the final movement reaches its culmination and disappears, the way tempo and dynamics are restrained in a single, beautiful phrase – this is performance at its highest degree.”

Neue Ruhrzeitung, Essen, 24 January 2012

“Löste helle Begeisterung beim Publikum aus durch den Elan und das unverwechselbar präsente, kristallklare Klangbild der Academy, deren mittig als Block platzierte Bläsergruppe den Hörer geradezu ansprang.”

“Marriner betonte in geschmeidigen Tempi und wenig ausbremsenden Ritardandi den dramatischen Schub und die Struktur des weitschweifigen Werkes mit ihren satzübergreifenden, einschmelzenden Themen.”

Neue Ruhrzeitung, Essen, 24 January 2012

“The Academy was the source of delighted enthusiasm with its vigour and unmistakably present, crystal clear tone whose wind section in their very midst appeared ready to pounce at the audience at any moment.”

“In smooth tempo sections and ritardando passages which provided little deceleration, Marriner accentuated the dramatic impetus and structure of the diverse work with its overlapping, merged themes.”

Translation by Sarah Marks

Listen to Leon’s podcast here.

Tickets £8-£22

Box Office: 020 7766 1100 www.smitf.org

By Stephen Buck, Concerts and Education Volunteer

Over the last couple of months, since I started volunteering with the orchestra, I have been involved with the Garden Music Project. When I started with the project, the students had just been to visit Valentines Mansion and Gardens and the first workshop I was involved in was where the students started to make their electronic instruments. The instruments they created drew inspiration from the different stimuli they had observed in the garden such as light, moisture and touch. The instruments translated the effects of these stimuli through specific sensors to create or manipulate sounds. In these workshops I was shocked by just how easy it was to create these simple and cheap instruments. I’m sure that the computer programme the electronics where going through was far beyond my comprehension- but the physical part of it was so gratifyingly simple to make and use, and you could tell that the kids who had never really played an instrument found this immediacy really enjoyable too.

The next sessions the students had a couple of weeks later explored the things they had observed and noted in their journals on their garden visit. The first of these workshops was with Akhila (our visual artist) and the second was with members of the orchestra. With Akhila they produced works to be used in the film to accompany the performance at Kings Place, you can see from the video how impressive this was. In the workshop with members of the orchestra, the students explored the various sounds the instruments could make (both conventional and unconventional). Many of them had never seen an orchestra instrument before so it was great to see them so engaged in the sounds they were producing and giving creative direction to the musicians by producing graphic scores to be interpreted and played there and then.

In the final workshop, the students combined all the elements from their previous sessions. By using the instruments they had helped to create in their first session, they composed a piece which both complimented and manipulated sounds produced by the orchestras musicians and some sounds that had been recorded on the visit to the mansion and garden. All the time the creative ideas for the work were coming from the ideas they had picked up on their visit to the garden. I think this was probably the most challenging workshop for the students as they were coming at it from a background with little or no experience of classical music and yet were required to structure and perform a work which some used unusual sounds and ideas. I do think it took some of them a while to really get into it but when they did, it was great seeing these kids with no previous knowledge of orchestral music and instruments making creative decisions and asking the players to do things which were really effective but often even the musicians wouldn’t have thought of doing- in this respect the students weren’t the only ones learning something.

While I knew what to expect from the performance at Kings Place, having been involved in the workshops leading up to it, I was still really impressed by the finished article. The different groups all came together, each offering something completely different and original and yet as a work it really successfully linked together, even more so thanks to the stunning video that had been created from the student’s artwork.

Watch the Garden Music film here.

In Autumn 2011, the team from the Academy of St Martin in the Fields joined with 100 Islington and Redbridge students aged 11-14 years to explore the heritage of gardens and create their own music inspired by Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera.

Students visited Valentines Mansion and Gardens in Redbridge, where they experiences both the historical and natural environments and considered what might have influenced Mozart’s compositions.

This was followed by a series of workshops at schools where the young people, inspired by the heritage of gardens, designed and created new musical instruments and visual art and also composed their own music. All of these elements were brought together for an inspiring multi-disciplinary performance for school friends, parents and local communities at Kings Place in November.

This film documents the project, for more information about the Academy’s Outward Sound community programme, visit our Outward Sound pages.

Jason Caffrey spoke to Montero about Ex Patria at her final rehearsal with the Academy in London.

In an interview broadcast on the BBC World Service, Montero talks about how violence in her home country has touched her own family, and how as a pianist, writing music about it is a natural response.

Listen to Gabriela’s interview here.

To purchase tickets for this evening’s concert, call the Cadogan Hall Box Office on 020 7730 4500

By David Gordon Duke

“…sensitive, well-scaled playing brought out the nuanced intricacy of Brahms’ rich score; the slow movement theme and variations was particularly rewarding.”

“The ensemble’s reading was measured and clean, its clarity and precision showcasing the finesse and conceptional bravura of one of the great treasures of the chamber repertoire.”

Read the full review here.

Cornell Sun, October 6 2011

By Martha Wydysh

“Every musician is well seasoned; these guys are the cream of the crop in the chamber music world. When the sound of a solo line rivals that of a human voice, you know you’re listening to brilliant string players. Another distinguishing quality of the group is that players routinely work together on larger chamber works, as opposed to on usual string quartet with additional foreign guests. Because of this, the audience is given the chance to hear larger works that are not standard repertoire for chamber music concerts. Additionally, these works are played at a higher quality as a result of the group’s history together.”

“Andrew Watkinson blazed through these virtuosic passages, making his talent quite evident in his spewed glissandi and high-pitched runs.”

“Watkinson was readily able to take this role, delivering fluid, floating lines in stark contrast to what we heard in the Shostakovich. The group further demonstrated its camaraderie in the frivolous Scherzo, in which melodies are being thrown around with great agility. It takes an extremely cohesive group to nail these handoffs, but this octet certainly managed. The finale was played at a tempo fast enough to bring the audience to an immediate standing ovation.”

Read the full review here.

By Conrad Wilson

“It was a wonderfully agile, articulate performance, not least at those ambidextrous moments when Perahia’s right hand played the notes and his left conducted them. The work’s many Beethovenisms – more numerous and more Beethovenish than is traditionally believed – were crisply caught. The startling first movement cadenza burst from its surroundings with compelling vehemence, the pathos of the adagio was eloquently dwelt upon, and the most infectious bounce was brought to the final rondo. Strings and woodwind seemed to enjoy the experience as much as Perahia did. The audience was not short-changed.”

The Scotsman, 29 August 2011

By Carol Main

*****

“With the ever graceful Murray Perahia as soloist and director, and in Beethoven’s Piano concerto no. 2, the same strong string sound and well-controlled wind and brass brought endless energy to the teenage composer’s early masterpiece. Free-spirited, yet with a tight grip, the beautifully refined and sensitive soundscapes of orchestra and soloist were a perfect match.”

“Taking the podium for Schubert, originally scored for piano duet and later orchestrated by the virtuoso violinist Josef Joachim, Perahia was clear and precise as conductor, with plenty of rhythmic bite to the aptly names large-scale Grand Duo.”

The Times, 30 August 2011

By Neil Fisher

“The main event for most was probably Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no.2, and here Perahia the pianist shows his customary elegance and wit, almost shaping the piece from his central spot – he was directing the ensemble too – as if he was imagining it then and there.”

In April 2012, Joshua’s first major project as Music Director will feature a fifteen-date American tour, as well as a concert at London’s Cadogan Hall.

Featuring details of all our London concerts, along with news from the Academy and a welcome from new Music Director Joshua Bell, the brochure is your complete guide to the orchestra over the next twelve months.

Download here: 2011-2012 London Concerts Brochure

6.30pm

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields invites you to join members of the orchestra, presented by Inge Kjemtrup and including flautist Michael Cox, in a discussion of their intimate and personal insights into their relationship with the works of Mozart.

This talk precedes the third concert in the Academy’s Mozart Double Wrapped series which provides a unique opportunity to hear Mozart’s first and last symphonies, performed by this world-renowned chamber orchestra and directed by outstanding violinist Anthony Marwood who will join the Academy on this occasion.These pieces are accompanied by Violin Concerto No.2 in D and Horn Concerto No.4, with Anthony Marwood and Stephen Stirling as soloists.

Please Note:

The pre-concert talk is a FREE event, however tickets must be reserved through the Box Office directly on 020 7520 1490

To find out more about the concert, visit Kings Place’s website