Category: Review
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Review – Fenella Humphreys ‘Prism’ on Rubicon
A captivating collection of pieces for solo violin capturing the spirit and determination of musicians in the early days of the 2020 UK lockdown
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Opinion – Navigating change in a resistant industry
CBSO’s experiments challenge classical music’s self-image, highlighting some of the industry’s resistance to change, amid the opportunities to connect with new audiences.
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Trust is key and power destroys it
Bottom line, if you want the profile, play the game. With everyone. Otherwise, eventually, no one will talk about you. At all.
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Review – Dresden Philharmonic and Maria loudenitch at Cadogan Hall
Conductor Stanislav Kochanovsky stripped everything right back creating a rich tapestry of textures and colours that revealed far more detail in the score than would normally be perceptible in larger venues.
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Review – Wynton Marsalis’s entertaining Trumpet Concerto makes for a captivating listen
Marsalis’s entertaining new work is exactly what classical needs right now
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Listening in to (some of) the new programmes on BBC Radio 3
After a listening-hiatus from Radio 3, the new lineup offers a refreshing change. It won’t please everyone, though this wasn’t necessarily the intention.
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Review – Salieri’s Kublai Khan from Les Talens Lyriques and Christophe Rousset at Music Theater an der Wien
A Mongolian Emperor, two eager marketing executives, a misfit heir, a nun, and a bit of horseplay all come together in a jumbled depiction of Salieri’s rarely performed, sometimes crazy opera, ‘Cublai, gran kan de’ Tartari’. Penned in 1787 to a libretto by Giambattista Casti, Cublai is a comic opera with pertinent themes. Politics and…
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New Release – Dani Howard’s Orchestral Works
Composer Dani Howard’s first album release celebrates her technicolour orchestration in a range of orchestral works including the whimsical Trombone Concerto that lit up Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall mid-pandemic.
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TV – ‘Backstage with the LPO’ does what it says on the tin
Backstage with the London Philharmonic Orchestra on Sky Arts achieves a rare feat: it captivates both seasoned fans and newcomers alike.
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Music-making at school was far from a pleasant experience
Dreary school concerts attended by a reluctant audience. A traumatic experience of practical music-making.