Sinfonia of London/ Wilson/ Kantorow review – pushing the limits of the well-oiled orchestral machine

The Glasshouse, Gateshead
Conductor John Wilson and players delivered an Enigma Variations that veered between whispers and full-throttle intensity. Soloist Alexandre Kantorow, too, proved a master of extremes with Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No 3

Once upon a time, a young man from Gateshead went to London to study music, established his own orchestra and gained a reputation for impeccably turned out performances of Hollywood musicals and symphonic jazz. Fast forward a few decades and John Wilson is still hand-picking musicians and still serving up performances so polished they leave critics scrabbling for superlatives.

These days Wilson’s main outfit is the Sinfonia of London, and he is as likely to be conducting the symphonic mainstream as showtunes. But fresh from collecting the conductor award at the 2026 RPS awards, and on stage at the Glasshouse for the Sinfonia of London’s official first performance as an artistic partner of the Gateshead venue, this local lad made good remains an irrepressible entertainer.