choral music
War Requiem, Berlin Philharmoniker, Rattle, Philharmonie BerlinSunday, 16 June 2013
How often should a music-lover go to hear Britten’s most layered masterpiece? From personal experience, I’d say not more than once every five years, if you want to keep a sense of occasion fresh. So how often should an orchestra play it? Sir... Read more... |
Power, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Wilson, Barbican HallSaturday, 04 May 2013
Blether on MasterChef about love and passion for one’s craft has so devalued the currency that I hesitated in applying the terms to conductor John Wilson, last night moving from Hollywood and Broadway to another enthusiasm, tuneful British music.... Read more... |
Song for MarionMonday, 18 February 2013
Are films for the senior demographic the new rock’n’roll? As the population ages and people keep their marbles for longer, entertainments for the grey pound, as it’s charmingly called, must be laid on. The job of films like The Last Exotic Marigold... Read more... |
Special guest presenters announced for Radio 3's 'The Choir'Thursday, 24 January 2013
After seven years, Aled Jones is stepping down as presenter of Radio 3's Sunday evening programme, The Choir. During his stint at the helm of the 90-minute show, the ebullient Welshman has showcased choral classics ancient and modern, hosted choirs... Read more... |
The Choir: Sing While You Work, BBC TwoFriday, 21 September 2012
Where next for Gareth Malone, who would ardently like to teach the entire planet to sing in perfect harmony? He began all those series ago with the ruffians and rapscallions who make up the average sixth form, most recently took his outreach work to... Read more... |
BBC Proms: The English Concert and Choir, BicketFriday, 03 August 2012
What better work for Harry Bicket and The English Concert to perform at the Proms than Bach's joyous Mass in B Minor. Joyous firstly because of the music itself, with its vast stylistic and emotional range. Joyous secondly because, despite the... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Mozart, Ropartz, Sounds of the 30sSaturday, 07 July 2012
Mozart: The Four Horn Concertos Marc Geujon, Orchestre Paul Kuentz/Paul Kuentz (Calliope)Mozart’s horn concertos remain cornerstones of the hornist's repertoire. No one has ever written horn music quite so idiomatic, tuneful and loveable. They... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Leeds: OverWorlds & UnderWorldsMonday, 21 May 2012
It’s cold, grey and damp. Welcome to Leeds. The city centre has grown more homogenous, less distinctive since I arrived here in the 1980s, but there are still delights to be found.There’s an art gallery with a very decent collection of 20th-century... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Beethoven, Bruckner, Poulenc, ShostakovichSaturday, 19 May 2012
Bruckner: Symphony No 9 (with Finale completed by Samale-Phillips-Cohrs-Mazzuca) Berliner Philharmoniker/Sir Simon Rattle(EMI)Anton Bruckner’s last symphony is near perfect in its three-movement form. The realisation that the Finale was left... Read more... |
Brigham Young University Singers, St John's Smith SquareSunday, 13 May 2012
Brigham Young University in Utah is the largest private university in America, and is probably best known for its affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, AKA the Mormons. What’s less commonly known is that the university... Read more... |
Arvo Pärt Total Immersion, BarbicanMonday, 30 April 2012
How incredibly heartening that this latest edition of the BBC Symphony Orchestra's Total Immersion, focusing on the music of the contemporary Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt, sold out days in advance. Including an introduction to Pärt's music by the... Read more... |
The Dream of Gerontius, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Gardner, BarbicanSunday, 15 April 2012
It's one of the great perversities of modern cultural life that orchestras from America and Venezuela visit London more often than those from Birmingham or Manchester. A perversity and a shame, as last night's exceptional performance of Elgar's The... Read more... |
