The Frenchman composed Jeux for the Ballets Russes in 1911-12, after getting excited by Stravinsky’s Petrushka. He decided to go one better bur went too far for public tolerance. Jeux never really caught on, partly […]
The immediate closure has been announced at three French magazines, Avant-Scène Opéra, Classica and Pianist, all on economic grounds. Avant-Scène Opéra, in its 50th year, was unique in devoting each bimonthly issue to a single […]
Croydon Council has overspent this year by £35 million and is seeking a government bailout. It has been told to sell assets. Top of the list is Fairfield Hall, a world-class venue for orchestral concerts. […]
The English conductor came from a family of academics. When she graduated from Oxford and said she was going to make a career as a conductor, both parents were horrified. She describes their reaction to […]
The Russian violinist Rosa Fain, a pupil and later stage partner of David Oistrakh, has died in Dusseldorf, where she was Professor at the School of Music for many years. Like her teacher, she was […]
The Berlin Staatsoper has commissioned a bust for its resplendent foyer of an Austrian conductor who made his career behind the Iron Curtain. Otmar Siutner, from Innsbruck, took up a popst as principal conductor of […]
From my new monthly essay in The Critic magazine (out now): … I was not surprised to receive a 72-page book from the Ministère de la Culture, listing all the events the state has planned to […]
So What Click here to watch I’m not on TikTok but I was sent this priceless clip of Liz Minnelli performing So What,a song from the stage production of Cabaret that never made it into the […]
From our agony aunt: Dear Alma, A concertgoer waited to meet me after a concert several months ago. We went on several dates, and he is nice enough. It’s just not the perfect thing for […]
The death is reported, after a lengthy illness, of the Italian countertenor and conductor Roberto Balconi. A Milanese, he studied in England with Evelyn Tubb and worked with English Baroque Soloists, Il Giardino Armonico, Il […]
