classical music reviews, news & interviews
Boyd Tonkin |
Graham Rickson |
Saxophobia: Celebrating the Sax Craze of the 1920s Chad Smith (alto and C-melody saxophones), Sinfonia of London/John Wilson (Chandos)
David Nice
Had you been at John Wilson's Respighi spectacular on Friday, or heard it on BBC Radio 3/watched it on BBC Four, you might have perceived last night'…
David Nice
You never quite know what to expect from the acoustics of the Royal Albert Hall. It was hard to credit the total focus Kazuki Yamada drew from his…
David Nice
Forget Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture with bells, cannons and military bands (most people have, but it was my introduction to the Albert Hall as a child…
Help secure the future of arts journalism
In this era of algorithmic recommendation, opaquely sponsored content and AI slop, theartsdesk’s mission to preserve real journalistic and critical values has never been more important.
If you like what you see here, please join us in this mission.
Subscribing to the site will help us in our coming redesign and expansion.
If you do this before the 31st August this will be at our guaranteed founder’s rate:
your subs will never increase again.
Subscribe now for £5 per month.
or yearly for just £40.
Or if you simply want to support us with a one-off donation, you can do so here.
David Nice
The Estonian Festival Orchestra rules supreme, but other aspects just got even better
David Nice
A rapid Beethoven 9 and a showcase for the phenomenal Abel Selaocoe
Rachel Halliburton
An intriguing musical exploration of shifting power dynamics in the 20th century
Graham Rickson
Finnish music from Finnish conductors, life-enhancing minimalism and massed gongs
Helen Charlston
Eloquent thoughts on the wonder of 'Dichterliebe' and a new work inspired by it
O'Sullivan, Fantasia Orchestra, Fetherstonhaugh, Smith Square Hall review - the sassy airs of summer
David Nice
Latest in a line of great Irish mezzos shows her versatility, and the strings swoon
Graham Rickson
A pair of much-loved cello concertos, plus percussion transcriptions and a great German song cycle
David Nice
Two recitals in a thousand, other events good to excellent
Robert Beale
Distinction and emotional impact from young musicians and an exuberant maestro
Boyd Tonkin
A brass hero blows through favourite pieces - and a bluesy newcomer
Graham Rickson
Baroque concertos, opera arias on solo horn and new music for contrabass flute
David Nice
Subtle, introspective 'Harold in Italy' followed by over-punchy 'Symphonie fantastique'
Rachel Halliburton
Semi-staged version brings a heightened appreciation of the symphony's jostle of voices
David Nice
Cellist/singer with friends and top quartet make welcome returns to the DICMF
Bernard Hughes
Striking performances by a quartet with a strong sense of identity
Graham Rickson
Life-enhancing Danish piano music and a trio of epic symphonies
David Nice
'Santtu' clearly loves 'Symphonia Domestica', the composer's family mock-epic
David Nice
Mozart with other-worldly refinement, focused passion in Brahms
David Nice
The Norwegian soprano has arrived as a great recitalist in partnership with a vivid pianist
Bernard Hughes
Veteran American singer in fine voice, complemented by characterful accordion
Robert Beale
Luxurious sonic experience and tonal beauties in a moving Mahler 6
Graham Rickson
Baroque keyboard music in new colours, a celebration of a great English composer and Russian fairytales
David Nice
Stunning collaboration between actors and musicians typifies this bracing enterprise
Bernard Hughes
Period instruments and voices recreate the glory of a historical investiture
inside classical music
latest in today
VINYL OF THE MONTHJohn R Miller The Great Unknowing (Rounder)
Image
John R Miller’s…
Spanning a hundred years, the Dulwich Picture Gallery's show of American photography is a twofold delight. Most of the great names are…
There is something quietly reassuring to me about hearing a record that knows exactly what it wants to be. Manchester born duo Overmono's…
Last night’s Prom saw two beloved favourites – Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony – prefaced by a fairly unknown…
Camp Bestival 2026, Lulworth Castle review - where the daytime magic still outshines everything else
A few years ago, Camp Bestival felt like a charming, quietly eccentric affair, fairly small in the best sense, especially set beside the…
It’s absolutely normal to expect the weird and the wonderful each time those prolific Australian psychedelicists, King Gizzard and the…
There is a jovial intensity about the Jeremy Ledbetter Trio. As they launch vivaciously into the second set of their visit to a packed…
One completely joyous moment has eclipsed all my other impressions of this Glyndebourne Entführung revival. By the end of Act 1 of the…
At every turn in Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man, references to other stories pop up. There are the murderous sexual shenanigans of The…
Tom Holland is 30 now, and after a decade in the role his boyish Spider-Man muscularly comes of age in this fourth solo outing. A montage…
Most read
It’s absolutely normal to expect the weird and the wonderful each time those prolific Australian psychedelicists, King Gizzard and the…
Last night’s Prom saw two beloved favourites – Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony – prefaced by a fairly unknown…
VINYL OF THE MONTHJohn R Miller The Great Unknowing (Rounder)
Image
John R Miller’s…
One completely joyous moment has eclipsed all my other impressions of this Glyndebourne Entführung revival. By the end of Act 1 of the…
Is this the near-future? The premise of Ann Droid is that in place of our over-stretched social services, before long we may find ourselves…
Spanning a hundred years, the Dulwich Picture Gallery's show of American photography is a twofold delight. Most of the great names are…
Attending the tale of Sweeney Todd was my introduction to musical theatre. I was in my early 20s and a friend of mine had invited me to the…
A startling one in 10 British adults apparently went to a music festival this year. Given that I’m a music journalist and I didn’t, maybe I…
It must be tough being Michael Clark, subject of one the largest retrospectives ever dedicated to a choreographer still living. Post-punk’s…
Camp Bestival 2026, Lulworth Castle review - where the daytime magic still outshines everything else
A few years ago, Camp Bestival felt like a charming, quietly eccentric affair, fairly small in the best sense, especially set beside the…