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This November, Alessandro Crudele travels to Bari and Barletta (Italy) with the Philharmonia Orchestra, with whom he has established a close working relationship. 

The concerts will be held on Monday, November 25, at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari and on Tuesday, November 26, at the Teatro Curci in Barletta; the latter is dedicated to the legendary Carlo Maria Giulini, a conductor long associated with the Philharmonia Orchestra and born in this very city.

The programme opens with the Overture from Beethoven’s Fidelio and continues with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 16, with great Mozartian pianist Martin Helmchen, one of Alessandro’s regular musical partners. Concluding the programme is Brahms’ Symphony No. 4, the symphony that Maestro Giulini conducted the most during his long career.

This Apulian tour marks Alessandro’s sixth time conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra in just two years, confirming the solidity of their fortunate chemistry.

This month Alessandro Crudele returns to the Philharmonia Orchestra for the closing concert of their 2023/24 season in Bedford.

The concert will be held on 10 May 2024 at the Bedford Corn Exchange and will see the presence of star pianist Martin Helmchen in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 16 K451. To complete the programme, Beethoven’s Fidelio Overture and his Fourth Symphony. 

The fortunate relationship between the Philharmonia Orchestra and Alessandro tightens, after the successful album Britten & Elgar and the concert held at the Britten Theatre in London last October.

The concert will be preceded by an open rehearsal at 3 pm for Philharmonia Friends members. 

The international press is still enthusiastically reviewing the Britten & Elgar album by Alessandro with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Michael Barenboim.

RBB Kultur talked about the album:

Crudele already impressed last year on LINN with an energetic Respighi album, and he does not disappoint this time either. His feel for contrasts and his talent for strong effects show him once again to be a very good conductor in the succession of Riccardo Muti […]. 

Giuseppe Rossi wrote on Musica:

Also very good is this performance by Crudele, geared to capture the contrast of colors among the four panels with capillary accuracy and an admirable sense of expressive atmosphere, being able to rely on an orchestra of unquestionable value and the remarkable quality of the sound recording.

Paolo Locatelli wrote on Classic Voice:

Crudele has the merit of not ignoring the two-faced nature of the Interludes, treating them as pure orchestral pieces, with all the chisel care that goes with it, but without forgetting their inherent theatricality, marking their evocative charge. […] It is indeed a happy encounter between Alessandro Crudele, who narrates the page in great detail, and the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Norbert Hornig gave a 4 stars review on Fono Forum:

Alessandro Crudele animates the Philharmonia Orchestra to a lucid, finely drawn performance, the orchestral colours glow, images emerge, characters come to the fore.

Rolando Zegna wrote on MusicPaper Magazine:

Crudele arrives at this second recording for Linn Records after an earlier and well-received one devoted to the music of Ottorino Respighi. […] it confirms his propensity toward a refined enhancement of the coloristic texture of the scores he tackles […] Above all, the four splendid pictures that Britten dedicates to the North Sea with an orchestration that is breathtaking in places lend themselves to a spectacular and brilliant tour de force that the Philharmonia Orchestra delivers with maximum transparency and naturalness.

The American Record Guide wrote: 

The Britten is a foolproof work, needing only incisive playing and alert direction, both of which it gets here. There are many good readings of this music. Crudele’s hold its own with them.

Frank Hougee wrote on Luister magazine:

The Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Alessandro Crudele succeeds superbly in a convincing rendering of these magnificent orchestral pieces.

The International Classical Music Awards ICMA announced the nominations for their Awards 2024, celebrating the best musicians and recordings. Alessandro Crudele’s Britten & Elgar CD, with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Michael Barenboim, has been nominated in the Assorted Programs category. 

Last year Alessandro’s debut album with music by Respighi had also been nominated for a very important award (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik – German Record Critics’ Award), while both recordings are still receiving enthusiastic reviews.