Verdi - Messa da Requiem
Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti
Royal Festival Hall, London

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Every time the screaming descent of the Dies irae recurred, with the percussionist thwacking two mighty drums at once, the thrilling attack of the Philharmonia Chorus hit you between the eyes. And the choristers were just as effective, in a very different way, in the Requiem's hushed opening and the whispered chants at the end, which were sepulchral and chilling.
Richard Morrison, The Times, 28 March 2025

The orchestra and chorus were on great form, not just in the tremendous Dies Irae where the percussionist thwacked two bass drums simultaneously, with a sound that was like the earth cracking but in the quieter moments. The oboe's pathetic outcries in the Ingemisco ("I groan") section were heart-rending, and the chorus were equally strong in the dancing Sanctus the one moment of joy and optimism and in the massive Libera Me that ends the work.
Ivan Hewett, Telegraph, 28 March 2025

The Chorus in particular, and director Gavin Carr, had a night to savour: glittering in razor-edged entries; earth-moving in the savage eruptions of the Dies irae but (in contrast) airborne, angelic and even playful in the Sanctus. From the boom of the Rex tremendae to the hush of the Agnus dei, they commanded each rung on the Verdian ladder of sound and sense that stretches from earth to heaven then down to the brink of the inferno.
Boyd Tonkin, The Arts Desk, 28 March 2025

The Philharmonia Chorus were on top form: crisp diction, precise and agile at top and bottom, deeply responsive to the podium.
Dominic Lowe, Bachtrack, 28 March 2025

The chorus were first class, from the hushed unaccompanied opening 'Requiem aeternam' to the hurled out 'Dies irae'. Muti had clearly been working on them to clearly pronounce certain important words such as 'calamitatis'. I admired, in particular, the intonation of the sopranos on their high notes and the mellow weight of the alto section. The men came strongly to the fore in an overwhelming 'Tuba mirum' and shook away the cobwebs with a forceful 'Rex tremendae', though having them stand right on their first note did not make their job easy.
John Rhodes, Seen and Heard International, 28 March 2025

The opening 'Introit and Kyrie' was taken slowly, but what was so beautiful about it was the extreme dynamic shading of it: at times the Philharmonia were almost inaudible, the choir breathtaking as if floating above the line. The Dies Irae arrived with shocking power - Muti's downbeat as powerful and fast as I ever heard it done in concert, the first 'd' on the 'Dies' from the chorus hammered down like one vast nail. The choral singing was absolutely first rate: a superlative 'Tuba Mirum', gorgeous altos throughout, and a memorable 'Rex tremendae'.
Marc Bridle, opertoday.com, 31 March 2025

Schoenberg - A Survivor from Warsaw
Shostakovich - Symphony No.13 'Babi Yar'
Orchestre National de Lille conducted by Joshua Weilerstein
Auditorium du Nouveau Siècle, Lille
Philharmonie de Paris

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L'autre grande réussite de ce concert est celle des voix. Que ce soit la performance de la basse Dmitry Belosselskiy, au chant profond et impressionnant. Ou encore l'excellence de la formation britannique du Philharmonia Chorus. La parole est ici essentielle, fièrement portée par un soliste et des chœurs en osmose. Un impressionnant moment d'orchestre et de chant.

The other great achievement of this concert is the vocals. Whether it's the performance of bass Dmitry Belosselskiy, with his deep and impressive singing, or the excellence of the British Philharmonia Chorus. The spoken word is essential here, proudly carried by a soloist and choirs in perfect harmony. An impressive moment of orchestral and vocal performance.
Jean-Marc Petit, resmusica.com, 17 March 2025

Joshua Weilerstein, l'Orchestre National de Lille et le Philharmonia Chorus donnent tout et font corps avec la musique écrasante et dévastatrice qui dénonce avec flamme et courage la haine de juifs, de l'humiliation de Dreyfus à la terreur des pogroms et de la barbarie nazie.

Joshua Weilerstein, the Orchestre National de Lille and the Philharmonia Chorus give their all and become one with the overwhelming and devastating music that denounces with passion and courage the hatred of Jews, from the humiliation of Dreyfus to the terror of the pogroms and Nazi barbarity.
Hannah Starman, cult.news, 17 March 2025

Le flux vocal, source de toutes les dénonciations, exhortations, compassion, est superbement tenu par le narrateur chanteur ukrainien Dmitry Belosselskiy. Basse ample et caverneuse, souvent en dialogue ou associée au chœur d'hommes (impeccable Philharmonia Chorus préparé par son chef, Gavin Carr), le soliste réalise une trajectoire à la fois sobre, expressive, pleine de noblesse, exhortant à la fraternité. Le programme est repris ce soir à La Philharmonie de Paris : incontournable.

The vocal flow, the source of all the denunciations, exhortations, and compassion, is superbly conveyed by the Ukrainian singer-narrator Dmitry Belosselskiy. A full and cavernous bass, often in dialogue or associated with the male choir (the impeccable Philharmonia Chorus prepared by its chorus master, Gavin Carr), the soloist achieves a trajectory that is at once sober, expressive, and full of nobility, urging brotherhood. The program is repeated this evening at the Philharmonie de Paris: unmissable.
Alexandre Pham, classique news.com, 17 March 2025

Le Philharmonia Chorus renouvelle la prestation admirable entendue chez Schönberg : plénitude et puissance du chant, qualité intrinsèque des pupitres au sein d'un bloc d'une grande unité, couleurs et nuances.

The Philharmonia Chorus renews the admirable performance heard in Schönberg: fullness and power of the singing, intrinsic quality of the sections within a block of great unity, colors and nuances.
Rémy Louis, diapasonmag.fr, 19 March 2025

Quand le Philharmonia Chorus entame le poème juif, les cuivres bouillonnent encore mais les voix les dominent bientôt avec ferveur. La qualité du chœur d'hommes fera également partie de la réussite de la Symphonie n° 13 de Chostakovitch ensuite. Apparaissant toujours équilibré avec une sonorité ronde et une diction précise, il se tuile aisément avec les pupitres de bassons, de contrebasses et de cuivres graves.

When the Philharmonia Chorus begins the Jewish poem, the brass is still seething, but the voices soon dominate with fervor. The quality of the male choir would also be part of the success of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 13. Always balanced, with a rounded sound and precise diction, it easily meshes with the bassoon, double bass, and low brass sections.
Chloë Rouge, bachtrack.com, 18 March 2025

Mahler - Symphony No.2 'Resurrection'
Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Nefeli Chadouli
Bold Tendencies, Peckham

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'The choir, here 100 strong, standing behind the audience, their sound floating up invisibly, sings "Aufersteh'n (arise) with soft, utmost serenity. The whole performance could not have been more intense.'
Fiona Maddocks, The Observer, 21 September 2024

Handel - Messiah
Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by John Butt
Royal Albert Hall, London

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Prom 65 - Choral Day review
The Philharmonia Chorus were the main participants, reliable in fugal complexities and fast runs.
David Nice, The Arts Desk, 8 September 2024

Debussy - Nocturnes
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko
Royal Albert Hall, London

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Prom 17, Kozhukhin, RPO, Petrenko review - four tripartite masterpieces
The upper voices of the Philharmonia Chorus may have been a bit too close to the orchestra physically, but they wrought their own colour changes like professional singers: a beautiful complement to the super-subtle orchestra.
David Nice, The Arts Desk, 2 August 2024

The upper voices of the Philharmonia Chorus were fresh and precise in the movement's changing harmonies and rhythms and the orchestra offered skeins of sound in accompaniment. Many of the promenaders seemed mesmerised by the Choir's singing and the piece worked its magic in the hall.
Brian Barford, Classical Source, 1 August 2024

Rachmaninov - The Bells
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko
Royal Festival Hall, London

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Poetic cello, blazing chorus - Atmospheric Elgar and Weinberg, but Rachmaninov's 'The Bells' takes the palm

Purple patches flourished in the first half of this admirable programme: it could hardly have been otherwise given Sheku Kanneh-Mason's devotion to a new work in his repertoire, and the current strength of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko. Even so, it was the culmination, Rachmaninov's multifaceted "Choral Symphony" The Bells, which truly dazzled.

It seems so obvious: Petrenko just knows this idiom and is completely at ease with the difficult Rachmaninov rubato. The Philharmonia Chorus was simply electrifying: hard to believe they weren't professionals with a knockout sound like that.

This, rather than the too church-choiry Tenebrae, is what Pappano needed for his Ravel Daphnis et Chloé, repeated last night over at the Barbican at around the same time. The two masterpieces are only a year apart, and Rachmaninov proves master orchestrator too in the glitttering spirit of delight that frames his opening sleigh-ride. What a punch from the opening choral response to the tenor's "listen!", though, and what overwhelming climaxes throughout.

It takes real power and expression to hold focus in the "Loud Alarm Bells" movement; in Konstantin Balmont's translation of Edgar Allan Poe, when the voices become the flames in "I want to go higher, to burn higher, to touch the moonbeams", the effect was one of terrifying levitation. Special kudos to Chorus Master Gavin Carr.
David Nice, The Arts Desk, 12 April 2024

Rachmaninov's take on The Bells hits the spot

When a big choral symphony is called The Bells, a basic requirement, you might think, would be to hear some bells. There were three handsome specimens, small but sturdy, parked at the end of the percussion line on the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's back row. Reader, I could hear none of them.

Disappointment? Well, a smidgen. But so much else in Rachmaninov's spectacular take on Edgar Allan Poe's poem, the crowning glory of Vasily Petrenko's latest concert in the RPO's Icons Rediscovered strand, hit the spot unimpeded. Top of the list was the mighty force of the 80-strong Philharmonia Chorus, splendidly nurtured by its chorus master Gavin Carr, and especially thrilling in the alarm bell section. Not far below came the stentorian wonder of the baritone Andrii Kymach, your perfect companion for the gloomy bells of the final movement, fittingly marked "lento lugubre".
Geoff Brown, The Times, 12 April 2024

Sheku Kanneh-Mason and the Philharmonia Chorus shine in Weinberg and Rachmaninov

Rachmaninov's cantata 'The Bells' after the interval was an unqualified triumph. Petrenko was on home ground here, and he inspired a coruscating performance from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, doing full justice to Rachmaninov's brilliance as an orchestrator and his instinctive sense of drama. The soloists too were superb: the sweet-toned tenor Pavel Petrov found it hard to project his voice over the hubbub in parts of the first movement, but in the second the soprano Mirjam Mesak's clear, bell-like voice was a joy to hear, opening out thrillingly at the movement's climax. The fine baritone Andrii Kymach brought appropriately cavernous gloom to the final movement: he had me hoping that Petrenko might engage him for Shostakovich's Babi Yar.

The real heroes of the evening, though, were the Philharmonia Chorus. Not especially large around 100 singers they blew us away with their first entry: precision, attack, and enough volume for 'Gurrelieder'. The quieter moments they're humming over harp, piano and celeste later in the first movement were magical too. They were fabulous: the combined power of chorus and orchestra at the climaxes was shattering.
Chris Kettle, Seen and Heard International, 14 April 2024