Handling Handel
The Hallelujah Chorus crops up in the most unexpected places, says Michael Marissen in his new book about Handel’s Messiah.…
The real God wars
The West’s politicians generally aren’t interested in religion. Increasingly, that means they don’t understand the world
Inspired messiness
Can you tell how intelligent a musician is by listening to him play? Last year I discovered a recording of…
Inspired messiness
Can you tell how intelligent a musician is by listening to him play? Last year I discovered a recording of…
Inspired messiness
Can you tell how intelligent a musician is by listening to him play? Last year I discovered a recording of…
Running out of time
If I live as long as my father, I’ll be checking out on 9 December 2017. Since every man in…
Running out of time
If I live as long as my father, I’ll be checking out on 9 December 2017. Since every man in…
Running out of time
If I live as long as my father, I’ll be checking out on 9 December 2017. Since every man in…
Power of ritual
This week, I have been mostly listening to Parsifal. Not the St Matthew Passion, which is my usual Passiontide fare.…
Power of ritual
This week, I have been mostly listening to Parsifal. Not the St Matthew Passion, which is my usual Passiontide fare.…
Power of ritual
This week, I have been mostly listening to Parsifal. Not the St Matthew Passion, which is my usual Passiontide fare.…
The Menuhin test
‘The truth is,’ says Gordon Back, lowering his voice, ‘that if the violin finalists from the BBC Young Musician of…
The Menuhin test
‘The truth is,’ says Gordon Back, lowering his voice, ‘that if the violin finalists from the BBC Young Musician of…
The Menuhin test
‘The truth is,’ says Gordon Back, lowering his voice, ‘that if the violin finalists from the BBC Young Musician of…
Sacred songs
I love a good hymn, so long as I’m not expected to sing it. Lusty declarations of faith sound ridiculous…
Sacred songs
I love a good hymn, so long as I’m not expected to sing it. Lusty declarations of faith sound ridiculous…
Sacred songs
I love a good hymn, so long as I’m not expected to sing it. Lusty declarations of faith sound ridiculous…
Collecting compulsion
About 30 years ago, not long before he died, my father bought an LP of Sir Clifford Curzon playing Schubert’s…
Collecting compulsion
About 30 years ago, not long before he died, my father bought an LP of Sir Clifford Curzon playing Schubert’s…
Collecting compulsion
About 30 years ago, not long before he died, my father bought an LP of Sir Clifford Curzon playing Schubert’s…
Beauty without consolation
Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata is thrilling and brain-twisting. Its nickname derives from the fact that it was published as a sonata…
Dangerous liaison
It’s taken 40 years, but I’ve finally developed a taste for the one type of classical music that I couldn’t…
Theological warfare
How many battles have been fought over sacred music throughout history? The noise you make when you worship is a…
Classics in Crackland
Damian Thompson visits Brazil to hear Marin Alsop whip São Paulo’s orchestra into shape
Neglected maverick
When I was in my late twenties I discovered the joy of drinking alone. Well, perhaps ‘joy’ is putting it…
