Signs of Life

After a long quiet summer, music is finally returning to Berlin. Somewhere deep beneath the city, a mysterious figure has pulled the giant lever that sets the machinery of Berlin’s musical life into action once more and now, as you walk down the street, you can almost feel the music humming beneath you. The first signs of life emerged from the Konzerthaus, whose resident orchestra – under the direction of Iván Fischer – opened their season with a delightful semi-staged performance of Le nozze di Figaro which lacked nothing in generosity of spirit or excellence of musicianship. While the staging itself was accomplished with minimal means – much of the action took place on a raised circular platform at the centre of the stage, around which the orchestra was arranged in four distinct groups – the concert as a whole was a master class in how…