From the Lebrecht Album of the Week: Valentin Silvestrov, living in German exile since 2022, defies categorisation. Under Soviet rule, he maintained an aloofness from imposed styles, ignoring political and national pressures. He was twice […]
From the LA Times: Three of Wallis Annenberg’s children accuse Vikki Levine, the sister of their mother’s longtime partner, of exerting control over Annenberg in “likely fatal” ways, isolating her and hastening her decline with […]
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. […]
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, […]
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 – […]
.jpg?w=510&resize=510,510&ssl=1 "BBC Proms: Arvo Pärt at 90")
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tõnu Kaljuste – BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall (Photo: BBC/Chris Christodoulou) Arvo Pärt, Galina Grigorjeva, Rachmaninov, Bach, Veljo Tormis; Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tõnu Kaljuste, Kadri Toomoja; BBC Proms […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
This is the first of two volumes of George Walker’s complete piano works; Alexandre Dossin is the beautifully sensitive pianist. Dossin has previously appeared on ax’s as par of their complete Liszt piano music, in […]
