Will anyone follow my Lieder?
From my latest monthly essay in The Critic, out now: One morning in 2007 I knocked at the door of a Berlin villa and was admitted by staff. I was shown into a music room whose […]
classical music
Vienna Opera chief leaves with a swipe at his boss
Philippe Jordan last night conducted his final appearance as music director at the Vienna State Opera and says he won’t be back in the forseeable future. No successor has been named. It has been reported […]
Aigul can’t get French visa
The Barber of Seville opened at the Opéra de Paris last nigtht without its intended Rosina. The Russian mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina was unable to obtain a visa in time to enter France. She says: Dear […]
Dear Alma, I don’t want to make music any more
From our agony aunt’s mailbag: Dear Alma, I don’t want to make music any more. I go up on stage every day, tune up with my colleagues, look out into the festival audience – and don’t […]
Evgeny Kissin at the Barbican: Bach, Chopin, Shostakovich
Bach, Chopin, Shostakovich Evgeny Kissin (piano). Barbican Hall, London, 25.06.2025 Bach Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826 Chopin Nocturnes: C sharp minor, Op. 27/2; A flat, Op. 32/3. Scherzo No. 4. Shostakovich Piano Sonata No. […]
Another Ruth Leon Theatre Pocket Review: Giant – Harold Pinter theatre
Roald Dahl Giant is another kind of triumph – a brilliant play about a loathsome man. Roald Dahl, who wrote Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox and many other grotesque, darkly comic and sometimes […]
Ruth Leon’s Theatre Pocket Review: Stereophonic – Duke of York’s Theatre
Stereophonic is a triumph. It’s that rare theatrical event where everything comes together to make an evening in the theatre both new and timeless. At first sight, the premise is simple: a rock band is making their second […]
A different focus: Timothy Ridout in Mozart & Hummel with Academy of St Martin in the Fields plus Rossini & a Weber symphony
Hummel, portrait by Joseph Willibrord Mähler, c. 1814 Rossini: String Sonata No. 1, Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E flat, Hummel: Potpourri Op. 94, Weber: Symphony No. 1; Timothy Ridout, Tomo Keller, Academy of St Martin […]
From Handel to Verdi & beyond: I chat to soprano Soraya Mafi about singing in Handel’s Saul at Glyndebourne, & expanding into bel canto & Bernstein
Handel: Saul – Soraya Mafi – Glyndebourne Opera (Photo: Glyndebourne/ASH) Soprano Soraya Mafi is currently singing the role of Michal in Handel’s Saul at Glyndebourne in the 2025 revival of the 2015 production by Barrie […]
My Father’s Son: Nicky Spence and Dylan Perez at Thaxted Festival
My Father’s Son Nicky Spence (tenor); Dylan Perez (piano) Thaxted Parish Church, 22.06.2025 Although this recital uses the words of others, it might as well be autobiographical,’ said Nicky Spence in an article about this […]
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