Huge applause for Andrew Lumsden (and Claudia Grinnell) at the conclusion of this afternoon’s ’farewell’ evensong. Congregation of hundreds; wonderful singing – the most musical congregation I’ve ever had the privilege to be a part of.
Andrew directed the choir and played us out magnificently through the last hymn and voluntary. Extraordinarily positive congregation celebrating 22 years of his first-class direction and music-making.
The death this week of James Loughran called to mind a species of excellent British conductors who never pursued the limelight. Loughran’s 12 years at the Halle, succeeding the irreplaceable John Barbirolli, was a phenomenal […]
Dear Alma You may remember I wrote to you a while back about losing my job in music teaching as a result of a ‘minor offence’ – which should not have warranted a bar to […]
Next summer’s Aix-en-Provence festival presents a version of Britten’s opera redesigned for pinchpenny times: A mystery of origins and formal uncertainty shroud the story of Billy Budd, both in its operatic version, combining the libretto […]