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A Notable Evening
Music by Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky and Taneyev,
reviwed by MALCOLM MILLER
The remarkable choral cantata St John of Damascus, one of the earliest works by the Russian composer Sergey Taneyev (1856-1917), received a stirring UK premiere on 5 October 2012 nearly 140 years after its composition, given by the Goldsmiths Sinfonia and Chorus under the energetic baton of their conductor Alexander Ivashkin. The concert, given at a capacity-filled Great Hall at Goldsmiths College, New Cross, London, UK, formed the centrepiece of an exhilarating programme of Russian music, and the climax of a colourful 'Music Week' to launch the new academic year that ranged across solo, chamber and electronic genres, and also encompassed more popular styles. Alexander Ivashkin, a notable cellist and scholar, is Head of the Centre for Russian Music at Goldsmiths College, and it was appropriate to introduce the evening with the announcement of the inaugural Noelle Mann Scholarship, in memory of the founder of the centre, and curator of its Sergei Prokofiev Archive, Noelle Mann (1946-2010). The scholarship was awarded to a Goldsmiths doctoral student researching Prokofiev's The Fiery Angel, and it was apt to open the evening's programme with Prokofiev's concert favourite Lieutenant Kijé...
Copyright © 13 October 2012
Malcolm Miller,
London UK
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