Classical
Baffling and vile: ETO’s Manon Lescaut reviewed
In 1937, John Barbirolli took six pieces by Henry Purcell and arranged them for an orchestra of strings, horns and…
What would Tanner say?
On the train home from the Royal Festival Hall I learned of the death of Michael Tanner, who wrote this…
In defence of noise music
It’s curious to consider what a venerable old thing noise music is. That this most singularly untameable of musics –…
Funny, faithful and inventive: Scottish Opera’s Barber of Seville reviewed
A violinist friend in the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra used to talk about an orchestra’s ‘muscle memory’; a collective…
The miracle of watching a great string quartet perform
Joseph Haydn, it’s generally agreed, invented the string quartet. And having done so, he re-invented it: again and again. Take…
Rejoice that Hyperion’s impeccable back catalogue is finally available to stream
At the beginning of the 1980s a former ice-cream salesman called Ted Perry drove a London minicab to raise money…
Every crumb of Kurtag’s music is a feast: Endgame, at the Proms, reviewed
The fun starts early in Beckett’s Endgame. Within minutes of opening his mouth, blind bully Hamm decides to starve his…
A euphoric meat-and-two-veg programme: Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich/Paavo Jarvi, at the Proms, reviewed
We used to call it a ‘meat and two veg’ programme, back in my concert planning days: the reliable set…
Doesn’t get better than this: The Threepenny Opera, at Edinburgh International Festival, reviewed
It’s the Edinburgh International Festival, and Barrie’s back in town. Once, Edinburgh was pretty much the only place that you…
A brilliantly cruel Cosi and punkish Petrushka but the Brits disappoint: Festival d’Aix-en-Provence reviewed
Aix is an odd place. It should be charming, with its dishevelled squares, Busby Berkeley-esque fountains, pretty ochres and pinks.…
Imagine a school concert hosted by Bela Lugosi: Budapest Festival Orchestra and Ivan Fischer, at the Proms, reviewed
‘Audience Choice’ was the promise at the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s Sunday matinee Prom, and come on – who could resist…
Why is this genius playing to a half-empty Royal Albert Hall? Benjamin Grosvenor Prom reviewed
There were times during last Friday’s First Night of the Proms when it felt as if we’d been transported back…
The greatest female composer you’ve never heard of
One of the most intriguing piano concertos of the late 19th century is unknown to the public – and no…
Florid flummery: ETO’s Il viaggio a Reims reviewed
Lightning sometimes strikes twice. English Touring Opera hit topical gold last spring when, wholly by coincidence, they found themselves touring…
The coronation music was – mostly – a triumph
Sir Hubert Parry was upgraded from knight bachelor to baronet by King Edward VII in 1902, and my goodness he…
Discover who wrote the catchy music for the coronation of the cannibal Emperor Bokassa
If being asked to write music for the coronation of a king is an honour, then doing it for an…
