Classical music
New cantata breathes life into history of the Irish civil war
Diaries and letters of the time, together with book by Observer war correspondent Ed Vulliamy, inspired music for orchestra and vocalists.
Vanessa Thorpe
02, Oct, 2022 @1:00 PM
Schumann Quartet/Anna Lucia Richter review – immaculate playing prized efficiency over emotion
Despite great commitment from the mezzo-soprano, the four string players merged into corporate facelessness in this performance of Brahms and Schumann
Andrew Clements
02, Oct, 2022 @11:47 AM
Tosca review – gloriously sung and full of grand passion, this is gripping theatre
Christof Loy’s atmospheric staging of Puccini’s opera doesn’t always cohere, but its psychological probing proves powerful and Adam Smith is a tremendous Cavaradossi
Tim Ashley
01, Oct, 2022 @2:02 PM
The week in classical: Aida; Candide; Manchester Collective: Weather – review
Verdi’s music reigns supreme in the Royal Opera’s austere new staging of Aida; a community Bernstein production raises the roof; and a cult 90s work has never felt more timely
Fiona Maddocks
01, Oct, 2022 @11:30 AM
Classical home listening: Sibelius songs; The Future Is Female: Vol 2
Mezzo Marianne Beate Kielland dazzles in orchestral versions of Sibelius’s songs. And pianist Sarah Cahill revels in three centuries of works by women
Fiona Maddocks
01, Oct, 2022 @11:00 AM
SCO/Emelyanychev/Benedetti review – MacMillan’s violin concerto discomfits and intrigues
James MacMillan’s evocative Second Violin Concerto was premiered by Nicola Benedetti and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in a committed and accomplished performance
Rowena Smith
30, Sep, 2022 @3:49 PM
Tippett: The Midsummer Marriage review | Andrew Clements's classical album of the week
Gardner captures perfectly the overflowing exuberance of Tippett’s score, with Toby Spence and Jennifer France an ideal Jack and Bella
Andrew Clements
29, Sep, 2022 @3:40 PM
Sexual harassment and racism ‘endemic’ in UK music sector
Exclusive: survey of professional musicians finds 66% have experienced discrimination
Dalya Alberge
29, Sep, 2022 @5:00 AM
In This Brief Moment review – Darwin, Genesis and whirlygigs in Brett Dean’s mindblowing cantata
Dean’s five-part evolution cantata was brought to vivid life by Nicholas Collon and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Rian Evans
26, Sep, 2022 @2:00 PM
Aida review – dour staging gains colour from the pit
Robert Carsen’s new production of Verdi’s opera of Egypt and Ethiopia has ditched the cliches of exoticism to replace them with troubling images of contemporary conflict
Erica Jeal
26, Sep, 2022 @12:03 PM
Venice Biennale Musica review – things old, new, borrowed and bleurgh
The contemporary music strand of the Italian festival brought a typically elegant and thoughtful music theatre work by Michel van der Aa; less successful was Yvette Janine Jackson’s ‘radio opera’ Left Behind
Andrew Clements
26, Sep, 2022 @11:06 AM
Gurrelieder review – Schoenberg’s soundworld thrills under Gardner’s baton
Conductor Edward Gardner opened the London Philharmonic’s season with a detailed and focused performance of Schoenberg’s formidable cantata.
Tim Ashley
26, Sep, 2022 @10:25 AM
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