All just my personal opinion
… Right from the beginning of the first movement (Allegro vivace) one could sense and enjoy Norrington’s very detailed dynamics, the clear contrasts, very careful phrasing and articulation, down to individual ornaments — and the joyful playing in general. (…) It was a fascinating concert experience, and a strong, very convincing, compelling interpretation, both on the part of the conductor as well as the orchestra!
… it was fascinating to observe how the violin remained audible, kept a clear presence even through minimal, light movements of the bow (…)
In the subsequent Larghetto, the soloist enchanted the audience with the most intimate, whispering tones, played almost sul ponticello, with minute, discreet movements of the bow, merely a hint, but always present, down to the softest ppp and below — one could almost sense the audience holding breath, totally captured by this playing.
(…) The last position in the program (after the intermission) was Mozart’s Symphony No.40 in G minor, K.550, in its first version (without clarinets), preceded by some explanations (in English) by the conductor. Sir Roger Norrington first alluded to numeric relations between the two symphonies (No.4 vs. No.40 — second vs. second-to-last symphony), then referred to the fact that K.550 is overused, known too well even, and played in warehouses and escalators…
Some media are proclaiming Maurice Steger the “world champion of the recorder”. I think this is a rather odd statement, as musical interpretation can’t be measured, remains subjective, both on the side of the artist, as well as in the listener’s perception and receptivity; however, it is certainly legitimate to state that Maurice Steger’s recorder playing is in the world’s very top league…
(…) For this season (2014/15), the Chinese pianist Yuja Wang is “Artist in residence” at the Tonhalle. This position / title entails a number of concert (limited, though, considering the demand she faces all over the world), the first two of which were the opening concerts of the season, a third one was on Sunday, 2014-09-14, with chamber music: she was joined by two prominent musicians from the Tonhalle Orchestra…