Arts
The end of innocence
Why are we so fascinated by the first world war? As its 100th anniversary approaches, we’re already mired in arguments…
The Third way
When my colleague Charles Moore first began accusing Radio 3 of becoming ‘babyish’, and talking down to us as if…
All the fun of the fair
The Works on Paper annual fair runs from 6 to 9 February at the Science Museum. Its name is a…
All the fun of the fair
The Works on Paper annual fair runs from 6 to 9 February at the Science Museum. Its name is a…
All the fun of the fair
The Works on Paper annual fair runs from 6 to 9 February at the Science Museum. Its name is a…
Codes of conduct
Not long ago the great conductors of classical music were general practitioners. They expected to give satisfactory interpretations of music…
Codes of conduct
Not long ago the great conductors of classical music were general practitioners. They expected to give satisfactory interpretations of music…
Girls on film
Is Hollywood finally waking up to the talents of women directors? Peter Hoskin doubts it
German double
Yet more performances of Elektra, Richard Strauss’s setting of Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s ramped-up, neurosis-riddled 1903 reworking of Sophocles, are unlikely…
Brush with boredom
The death of painting has been so often foretold — almost as frequently as its renaissance — that any such…
War of the divas
If you and your family are bored — if, for example, it’s one of those dull Sunday afternoons that seem…
Farewell, Claudio Abbado
Fellini’s credo ‘the visionary is the only true realist’ could also be applied to the life of Claudio Abbado, who…
Art vs profit
Here’s a heartwarming tale from the London fringe. A company named Above the Stag was merrily plying its trade at…
Strong-minded women
You might think the main storyline in The Archers is all about Helen’s affair with dastardly Rob. (What does she…
One for all
‘Pshaw!’ That was my first reaction to news of the BBC’s new ten-part Sunday night adaptation of The Three Musketeers.…
Farewell, Claudio Abbado
Fellini’s credo ‘the visionary is the only true realist’ could also be applied to the life of Claudio Abbado, who…
Farewell, Claudio Abbado
Fellini’s credo ‘the visionary is the only true realist’ could also be applied to the life of Claudio Abbado, who…
Peak practice
William Cook visits the Kirchner Museum in Davos, the Alpine town where the German Expressionist found refuge and inspiration
Collecting compulsion
About 30 years ago, not long before he died, my father bought an LP of Sir Clifford Curzon playing Schubert’s…
History man
Rediscovering the unduly neglected is one of the chief excitements of those who curate exhibitions and write books. And there’s…
Long division
Of all the West End’s unloved venues the loveliest is the Arts Theatre. It specialises in creaky off-beat plays like…
Putney boy come good
Three things you might not expect of the RSC’s adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Tudor novels. First, Mike Poulton’s plays have…
Fortune’s fool
Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street will set the cat among the pigeons as a number of films do.…
Losing the plot
You know the holiday season is over when, instead of being torn between The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing…
Uncomfortable truths
‘It put a lot upon us,’ said Christopher Jefferies’s aunt. ‘The ripples went on and did not stop for a…
