Thursday 30 December 2021

2021 in concert reviews

Rachel Podger - Kings Place (Photo  Monika S Jakubowska/Kings Place)
Rachel Podger - Kings Place (Photo  Monika S Jakubowska/Kings Place)

Well, what a year it has been, yet there have been some terrific evenings in the theatre and concert hall, and I have to congratulate all the performers and venues for managing to keep the artistic world moving in difficult circumstances, from Wigmore Hall and Kings Place to the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. 

Carolyn Sampson and Joseph Middleton gave the first song recital at Wigmore Hall after lockdown, and Elizabeth Llewellyn (accompanied by Simon Lepper) returned to the Wigmore Hall following her sensational debut last year. It was also a good year for Handel, beginning with early, Italian Handel from Ensemble Marysas, continuing with Samson at the London Handel Festival, and two different Messiahs, not to forget Jorge Navarro Colorado and Opera Settecento's amazing exploration of arias written for one of Handel's tenors. 

And at the Proms we had Julius Eastman and Joseph Horovitz's Harpsichord Concerto from the Manchester Collective, and Stephen Isserlis, the London Philharmonic and Vladimir Jurowski in rare Proms outings for Walton's Cello Concerto and Hindemith's Mathis der Mahler Symphony. Whilst at Opera Holland Park, we got the chance to hear song recitals alongside the opera season and the London Song Festival' strong Autumn season included a terrific exploration of the relationship between Verlaine and Rimbaud.

he Manchester Collective in rehearsal at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms (Photo c/o Manchester Collective)
The Manchester Collective in rehearsal at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms (Photo c/o Manchester Collective)

The Christmas season wasn't just Messiah; both Gabrieli Consort and Players in Bach cantatas and Arcangelo in Schütz put a real spring in our steps.

The following list is my selection of the live concerts that we have attended. Online events and live-streams are covered in my column, A Life On-Line.

Concerts of the year

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