Alfred Brendel: The man who tried to seem normal
From my appreciation of the great pianist in the new issue of The Critic: He worked so hard to appear normal. A tall man, Alfred Brendel cultivated a stoop to meet people at their level. […]
Slipped Disc
Smoking on a roundabout at the age of 10
The tenor Nicky Spence, subject of the second Lebrecht Interview at 2145 tomorrow night on BBC Radio, had a turbulent childhood which stabilised only when his mother moved with him to Scotland. He started singing, […]
How ballet in Japan became a British offshoot
From our critic in residence, Alastair Macaulay: One of the most fascinating revelations of the National Ballet of Japan’s debut season at the Covent Garden opera house (July 24-27) was that the Japanese – […]
Big money goes missing as Met’s contract talks hit deadline
Contracts between the Metropolitan Opera, its orchestra (AFM Local 802) and stagehands (IATSE Local 1) expire at midnight tonight. Insiders tells us talks have been bogged down on general manager Peter Gelb’s insistence that there’s […]
Salzburg extends Cecilia
The Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli has been confirmed as Artistic Director of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival until 2031. Bartoli, 59, has been in the job since 2012. ‘Cecilia Bartoli and her conceptual farsightedness are a […]
Munich finally renews Juro
The Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts has extended the contract with General Music Director Vladimir Jurowski until the end of the 2028-29 season. The renewal had been left in abeyance for several […]
Bob Wilson, RIP
The renowned American artist and stage director died today in Water Mill, New York, at the age of 83. Although enduring acute illness, associates say he kept working to the last. He broke through intoopera […]
Linz gets Koncz
The Austrian-Hungarian conductor Christoph Koncz has been appointed Chief Conductor of the Bruckner Orchestra Linz from 2027. Koncz, 37, is Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse and Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Kammerakademie […]
Classical labels lose UK distributor
Proper Distribution, which represents a medley of interesting labels, shut down its classical department today, maing Ginny Cooper and her two sidekicks redundant. Among the labels left high and dry are Carus, Prospero, Aurora, Eloquence, […]
Just in: Argerich is unwell
Martha Argerich, who appeared this week at the Verbier Festival, has cancelled the Engadin Festival this weekend ‘for health reasons’. Her trio partners Mischa Maisky and Iddo Bar-Shai have also withdrawn. They are replaced by […]
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