The Germans do love their theater, and the annual roundup of the ten best German-language theater productions of the past year, called Theatertreffen, always promises to be a thrilling opportunity to sample the current climate in the theater and the world at large.
Concept programmes can easily ring hollow. But rarely when Patricia Kopatchinskaja is involved, a violinist who never gives anything less than her full intellectual and artistic curiosity to her music-making. Her latest recital was a beautiful example of what happens when a theme is properly explored: connections spark between pieces, layers of meaning build up, unexpected revelations appear.
Devised by violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and soprano Anna Prohaska, this sequence of vocal and instrumental pieces explored depictions of the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene with stylish verve<br>
More than 50 virtuoso string players from across Europe played works from the very old to the brand new in an evening with plenty to admire but which fell short of its bold concept