The Music of Sergej Maingardt
It is important to listen to consider and absorb the music of our time. For some hat means a post-Modern construct; which can be relatively easy on the ear; for others (I remember, notably in […]
reviews
Manchester Camerata at Wigmore Hall
It’s amazing what can change in three quarters of an a hour. This short lunchtime concert at Wigmore Hall preesnted some remarkable music in superb performances: the known, the lesser-known and the (probably) unknown. But […]
A series of high-profile concerts in Paris marked the centenary of the celebrated and distinguished Russian-born cellist, Valentin Berlinsky, founder and cellist of the Borodin String Quartet.
Schubert: Trout Quintet – Mikhail Kopelman, Loïc Rio, Laurent Marfaing, François Kieffer, Grigory Kovalevsky, Elisabeth Leonskaja (Photo © Nathanael Charpentier / © Association La Clé des Portes) First concert (presented by Clément Rochefort)JS Bach: Cello […]
Fantasia Orchestra launch residency at Smith Square Hall with Birdsong-themed concert
Jess Gillam, Tom Fetherstonhaugh & Fantasia Orchestra in rehearsal (Photo: Fantasia Orchestra) In May last year I chatted conductor Tom Fetherstonhaugh [see my interview] about Fantasia Orchestra which he founded way back in 2016 (when he […]
Heavenly Harmony: for 2026, the London Handel Festival ranges from oratorio & opera seria to the more intimate, including the composer’s living room
The Foundling Hospital chapel where Handel presented Messiah annually Cities change and cities develop. Which means that a festival that seeks to celebrate Handel in the city of his adoption constantly needs to reinvent itself. There are […]
Favourite songs & last words: Schubert weekend in Oxford with Nikola Hillebrand, Julius Drake, Thomas Oliemans & Paolo Giacometti
Schubert with friends Johann Baptist Jenger & Anselm Huttenbrenner – Chalk drawing, 1827, by Josef Eduard Teltscher Schubert Weekend: Nikola Hillebrand, Julius Drake, Thomas Oliemans, Paolo Giacometti; Oxford International Song Festival at Holywell Music RoomReviewed […]
Deneve and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra – on Delos
This is an enticing release – new orchestral works from American composer Kevin Puts played by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and their fabulous conductor, Stephane Deneve. It’s also interesting that it appears on the […]
Gluck Arias: Ann Hallenberg’s latest disc with The Mozartists is the result of her long and fruitful relationship with conductor Ian Page
Ann Hallenberg, The Mozartists, Ian Page recording Gluck Arias (Photo: Ben Ealovega) Swedish mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg has a new album out. For Gluck Arias on Signum Classics, she joined forces with conductor Ian Page, with […]
Handel in Music and Art: Bridget Cunningham & London Early Opera at Handel & Hendrix in London
Handel’s restored house in Brook Street Handel’s collection of art is known to have included works by Canaletto, Watteau and Poussin which he owned in his home at Brook Street. In a forthcoming concert at […]
Not so slight & surprisingly experimental: the Royal Opera & La Nuova Music bring a touch of 1930s glamour to Handel’s ugly duckling opera, Giustino
Handel: Giustino – Esme Bronwen-Smith, Polly Leech, Kelly Fuge, Mireille Asselin, Benjamin Hulett (with bag over his head) – La Nuova Musica at Royal Opera House (Photo: Marc Brenner) Handel: Giustino; Polly Leech, Mireille Asselin, […]
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