A statement by the great man’s three children in the NY Times today: Our father, the composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, liked to tell us about the time Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis called to ask him […]
The violinist and conductor Vladimir Spivakov, head of Moscow’s International House of Music, has been awarded a state honour by his friend in the Kremlin. Spivakov, 80, joins a list of hard-handed sons of toil. […]
The Gustav Mahler youth orchestra has announced the death of its former member Victor Aviat, after a short illness. Victor was principal oboe of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, widely known and well liked. He also […]
The controvesial culture senator Joe Chialo who was responsible for dopuble-digit cuts across the traditional arts resigned this morning, saying he was unhappy with the cuts he was forced to make. Chialo said: ‘Last year, […]
Joint Workshop with National Children’s Choir of Great Britain in April 2025 ‘absolute magic, the only side-effect is joy’ Until Thursday (1 May 2025) I had not really heard about the work of Soundabout the […]
From our critic in residence, Alastair Macaulay reviews Patrick Marber and Mark Ravenhill: “Dealer’s Choice” and “Ben and Imo”. The abiding subject of the playwright Patrick Marber is masculinity: which, for him, includes male bonding, masculinity […]
MiSST Together Orchestra in rehearsal at the Barbican The Music in Secondary Schools Trust’s 12th Annual Concert; Barbican CentreReviewed 23 April 2025 Over 300 students from beginners to Grade 8 come together to celebrate 12 […]
Holly Harman Ground: Nicola Matteis, Heinrich Biber, Turlough O’Carolan/James Oswald, Marco Uccellini, Alice Zawadzki, Sid Goldsmith; Holly Harman, Carina Cosgrave, Oliver John Ruthven, Kristiina Watt, Sid Goldsmith; Stone NestReviewed 30 April 2025 Launching her album, […]
This might be Classical Explorer‘s first encounter with Arturo Toscanini, the great enigma. For years, I railed against him, both of my feet firmly in the Furtwängler camp. Cue a sheaf of reviews for the […]
This box set was apparently issued to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the DAFO String Quartet. But you would never know that unless you read the enclosed booklet very attentively, where it is inconspicuously mentioned […]
