Vilde Frang returns – in Elgar
We have met violinist Vilde Frang on evil occasions, most memorably in her coupling of Beethoven and Stravinsky, in Berg at the Barbican, and in Bartók in Berlin. We have also considered Albert Sammons’ recording […]
classical music
The under-appreciated genius of Bruno Maderna
Hearing Boulez’ Rituel: In Memoriam Brumo Maderna the other day as part of LSO Futures; reminded me that Maderna (1920-73) remains an under-appreciated genius. Here’s the promo video for the present disc: The Serenata No. […]
Eleven artists were honoured as this year’s winners of the Aga Khan Music Awards which were held in London for the first time
Qalali Folk Band at Aga Khan Music Awards 2025 (Photo: Joao Peixoto) Eleven artists were honoured at the weekend as this year’s winners of the Aga Khan Music Awards in a ceremony in the Southbank […]
Pitting the cello, as lone climber, against the heavens-touching vastness of mountains, Belfast-based composer Anselm McDonnell’s new cello concerto premieres in Dublin
Anselm McDonnell Belfast-based composer Anselm McDonnell appeared on these pages earlier this year with my review of his third album, Politics of the Imagination, featuring music where political commentary and sheer playfulness combine with a […]
York-based music charity, the Richard Shephard Music Foundation celebrates its most successful year to date.
The Richard Shephard Music Foundation (RSMF), the York-based music charity founded in 2021 to bring ‘the experience and enjoyment of music to children and young people in Yorkshire and beyond’ is celebrating its most successful […]
Handel’s “Partenope” at ENO
Handel Partenope , HWV 27 (translated Amanda Holden, ed. Clifford Bartlett) Cast; Orchestra of English National Opera / William Cole (conductor). London Coliseum, 22.11.2025 Production: Director – Christopher Alden Set designer – Andrew Leibeman Costume designer – […]
Battleship Potemkin: The Pit Orchestra celebrates the film’s centenary with its own innovative score
Sergei Eisenstein: Battleship Potemkin (Photo supplied by BFI) Sergei Eisenstein’s legendary 1925 silent film, Battleship Potemkin is widely considered a masterpiece in early cinema. It was inspired by the failed 1905 Russian Revolution and its iconic […]
Calling young conductors: 18th Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition in London & 6th Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition at CBSO in Birmingham
Donatella Flick and HRH The Duke of Kent announce Nicolò Foron as winner of 17th Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in 2023 © Mark Allan Calling young conductors. Two international conducting competitions take place over the next […]
Ode to Pity: Penelope Appleyard & Jonathan Delbridge take Jane Austen celebrations into song with music by Donna McKevitt
The 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth is on 16 December 2025. Musical celebrations, however, seem somewhat sparse and Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park apart, there seem to be few occasions where Austen’s text has found […]
This lively, engaging production drew us in with little sense of the artificial: Opera North revives Phyllida Lloyd’s 1993 production of Puccini’s La Boheme
Puccini: La Boheme – Opera North (Photo: Richard H Smith) Puccini: La boheme; Joshua Blue, Isabela Diaz, Katie Bird, Josef Jeongmeen Ahn, Han Kim, Sean Boylan, director: Phyllida Lloyd/James Hurley, conductor Catriona Beveridge; Opera North […]
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