Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin - Weber - The Times

My smile didn’t fade during the Weber programme assembled by Christoph Eschenbach and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin to celebrate 200 years since the opening of Schinkel’s Konzerthaus building and the successful premiere of Der Freischütz. The agreeable soprano Anna Prohaska sings two arias from Weber’s opera, while the pianist Martin Helmchen, always invigorating, demonstrates his penetrating art in the piano-and-orchestra Konzertstück. But it’s the overtures here, including the wonderful The Ruler of the Spirits, that spread most delight, with their sprightly delivery of Weber’s top virtues: happy melodies, dramatic punch and lively orchestral colouring. The only fault I detected was the album’s running time: 53 minutes. Why stop at 53 when you’re having such fun?