Critic and audiences alike praised Semyon Bychkov conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a special Remembrance Day Sunday performance of Britten’s War Requiem at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
“A performance of Britten’s War Requiem in the high spaces of the Albert Hall, on Remembrance Sunday and in the month of the composer’s centenary, ticks a lot of boxes . . . but Semyon Bychkov’s masterly elucidation of the score with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus ticked plenty more boxes of its own.” – The Guardian, 12 November 2013
“Last night’s under the special circumstances of Remembrance Sunday wasn’t just good: it hit the heights and plumbed the depths, with no weak link in any of the soloists, choirs, orchestra or instrumental soloists. So much so that the tears threatened to become sobs, and self-restraint made just listening hard work.” – The Arts Desk, 11 November 2013
“At no point was this a spot lit performance, and great credit should go to Bychkov for attending to the text with great reverence, conducting with humility. Sometimes just a scoop of the hands was all that was needed. In this way attention was always focused on the text, and the assembled audience were left much to ponder; surely the function of the War Requiem and Remembrance Sunday itself. To that end an immaculately observed, extended period of silence, the choir’s ‘Amen’ dying away to inaudibility, was the ideal way to respond.” – Good Morning Britten,11 November 2013
“The sense of occasion was overwhelming.” – Opera Today, 12 November 2013
“Throughout, Semyon Bychkov’s expressive baton and sometimes his sculpturing hands were an inspiration. Preparation had been painstaking, yet a means to an end – one of the greatest performances of anything to come my way in forty years of concert-going.” – Classicalsource.com, 11 November 2013
Following an extraordinary performance of Britten’s War Requiem in London, Semyon Bychkov is now in California where he will conduct Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, before reprising the War Requiem with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.