Haitink’s Bavarian Bruckner 7
This is not he first specifically Haitink Bruckner 7 on Classical Explorer: we did a short post on a DVD of a Vienna performance here. There is something about the gorgeous warmth of found of […]
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Saxophones in the City: saxophonist Jess Gillam invites saxophonists & clarinettists to come & play for massed event as part of CBSO in the City festival
CBSO at New Street Station as part of CBSO in the City, 2024 (Photo: Hannah Fathers) As part of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO)’s 2026 CBSO in the City festival (27 to 31 […]
Patterns in Repeat: Manchester Collective at Southbank Centre
Meredith Monk Stringsongs: IV. “Phantom Strings” (2004) Clarice Assad Sonic Landscapes: I. “Continuum” (2002) Meredith Monk Backlight (2015) Cassie Kinoshi ARTEFACT/AUTOMATON (2026, World Premiere) Cassandra Miller Perfect Offering (2021) Manchester Collective; Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, […]
Ask and ye shall receive. Orchestral works of Mel Bonis
That’s not necessarily a biblical quote coming from me (hardly!), but a phrase which is nonetheless apropos in this context. In my review of Trio Wanderer’s “Art Nouveau” collection of French chamber music, I loved […]
Giulio Cesare at the Grange: superb music performances compensate for David Alden’s scattershot approach to Handel’s masterpiece
Handel: Giulio Cesare – Zheng Jiang, Owen Willetts, Jess Dandy – The Grange Festival (Photo: Richard Hubert Smith) Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto; Tim Mead, Sarah Brady, Jess Dandy, Zheng Jiang, James Atkinson, director: David […]
Mysteria: pianist Svetlana Andreeva’s beautifully programmed disc
Ukrainian pianist Svetlana Andreeva (born Dzhankoy, a small town in Crimea) offers a beautiful programme of music, spellbindingly played. Age 15, Andreeva enrolled in the Central Music School of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, later studying […]
René Benedetti’s miraculous Paganini
French virtuoso violinist René Benedetti was born in Toulon in 1901; the family moved to Paris when René’ father opened a music shop in Montmartre. Benedetti was something of a prodigy: he had lessons at […]
Handel’s Serse at Barbican
Most recently seen in March in a stunning Tamerlano at Shorreditch Town Hall as part of the 2026 London Handel Festival, Douglas Cummings and the Academy of Ancient Music gave us Serse of 1738 (premiered […]
As Ryan Wigglesworth steps down as chief conductor of BBC SSO, his replacement is announced as Antony Hermus, principal guest conductor of Opera North
Antony Hermus (Photo: Marco Borggreve) Next year, Ryan Wigglesworth completes a remarkable five seasons as chief conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra [see my recent interview with Ryan focusing on his being Featured Artist […]
Allow yourself to be seduced: Tsinandali Festival features the Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra at historic estate in Georgia
Tsinandali Festival amphitheatre The current Foreign Office travel advice for Georgia is somewhat inconclusive, yet the country has long seduced European travellers. Friends of mine travelled to Tblisi last year and not only had a […]
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