Richard Bratby

Even Nelsons’s miscalculations are fascinating: Leipzig Gewandhaus/Andris Nelsons, at the Barbican, reviewed

Strauss and Nelsons are made for each other, sharing that same boundless, boyish glee in the sound of a massive orchestra at the peak of its virtuosity

G-force: Andris Nelsons conducting the Leipzig Gewandhaus at the Barbican on the first night of their Strauss Project. Image: Mark Allan/Barbican
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  • Leipzig Gewandhaus/Nelsons

    Barbican Hall

Imagine growing up with a whole orchestra as your plaything. Richard Strauss’s father was the principal horn of the Munich Opera, and doting relatives funded publication of the teenage Richard’s earliest compositions. At the age of 19 he was assistant conductor of the Court Orchestra in Meiningen, and had rather got used to having world-class musicians at his command.

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