Damian Thompson

Damian Thompson is an associate editor of The Spectator

Pope vs church - the anatomy of a Catholic civil war

7 November 2015 9:00 am

Francis’s haphazard reforms risk sparking a Catholic civil war

Why I’m glad my piano teacher spent more time chatting than teaching

17 October 2015 8:00 am

At the entrance to Marylebone railway station is an old piano that anyone can play. Unfortunately, whoever had this sweet…

Why I’m glad my piano teacher spent more time chatting than teaching

15 October 2015 2:00 pm

At the entrance to Marylebone railway station is an old piano that anyone can play. Unfortunately, whoever had this sweet…

Why I’m glad my piano teacher spent more time chatting than teaching

15 October 2015 2:00 pm

At the entrance to Marylebone railway station is an old piano that anyone can play. Unfortunately, whoever had this sweet…

This year, Catholic conservatives are ready for Pope Francis

10 October 2015 9:00 am

Where will Francis's Synod on the Family take the Church?

Clara Schumann

There's a good reason why there are no great female composers

19 September 2015 8:00 am

Last week a 17-year-old girl forced the Edexcel exam board to change its A-level music syllabus to include the work…

Clara Schumann

Deadlier than the male

17 September 2015 1:00 pm

Last week a 17-year-old girl forced the Edexcel exam board to change its A-level music syllabus to include the work…

Clara Schumann

Deadlier than the male

17 September 2015 1:00 pm

Last week a 17-year-old girl forced the Edexcel exam board to change its A-level music syllabus to include the work…

Jascha Spivakovsky: the great lost pianist we can finally hear

22 August 2015 9:00 am

William Kapell was an American concert pianist with the looks of a male model and the fingers of a wizard.…

The greatest pianist you’ve never heard of

20 August 2015 1:00 pm

William Kapell was an American concert pianist with the looks of a male model and the fingers of a wizard.…

The greatest pianist you’ve never heard of

20 August 2015 1:00 pm

William Kapell was an American concert pianist with the looks of a male model and the fingers of a wizard.…

After coming forth in the Tchaikovsky competition, Lucas Debargue is the only competitor anyone is talking about

The real winner in the Tchaikovsky competition is the man who came last

18 July 2015 9:00 am

Lucas Debargue, a 24-year-old French pianist, came fourth in the finale of the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow on 30 June,…

After coming forth in the Tchaikovsky competition, Lucas Debargue is the only competitor anyone is talking about

He wuz robbed!

16 July 2015 1:00 pm

Lucas Debargue, a 24-year-old French pianist, came fourth in the finale of the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow on 30 June,…

After coming forth in the Tchaikovsky competition, Lucas Debargue is the only competitor anyone is talking about

He wuz robbed!

16 July 2015 1:00 pm

Lucas Debargue, a 24-year-old French pianist, came fourth in the finale of the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow on 30 June,…

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is greeted by Pope Francis during the Ordinary Public Consistory at St. Peter's Basilica in February (Photo: Franco Origlia/Getty)

Benedict XVI leaves Rome to deliver a coded message to his supporters

11 July 2015 9:00 am

Quietly, discreetly, the Pope Emeritus is offering a different vision to that of Pope Francis

Is this the greatest piano work of the 21st century?

20 June 2015 9:00 am

The award of a knighthood to the composer James MacMillan will have ruined last weekend for lots of unsavoury people:…

Forward thinking

18 June 2015 1:00 pm

The award of a knighthood to the composer James MacMillan will have ruined last weekend for lots of unsavoury people:…

Forward thinking

18 June 2015 1:00 pm

The award of a knighthood to the composer James MacMillan will have ruined last weekend for lots of unsavoury people:…

2067: the end of British Christianity

13 June 2015 9:00 am

England’s churches are in deep trouble

The Heckler: why does John Eliot Gardiner have to be so rude?

2 May 2015 9:00 am

Sir John Eliot Gardiner is talented almost beyond measure. His Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists and stupidly named Orchestre Révolutionnaire…

John Eliot Gardiner

30 April 2015 1:00 pm

Sir John Eliot Gardiner is talented almost beyond measure. His Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists and stupidly named Orchestre Révolutionnaire…

John Eliot Gardiner

30 April 2015 1:00 pm

Sir John Eliot Gardiner is talented almost beyond measure. His Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists and stupidly named Orchestre Révolutionnaire…

Why Daniel Barenboim should be the next head of the Berlin Phil

18 April 2015 9:00 am

Daniel Barenboim is back in town: the South Bank is mounting a ‘Barenboim Project 2015’ in which he’s playing the…

The legend returns

16 April 2015 1:00 pm

Daniel Barenboim is back in town: the South Bank is mounting a ‘Barenboim Project 2015’ in which he’s playing the…

The legend returns

16 April 2015 1:00 pm

Daniel Barenboim is back in town: the South Bank is mounting a ‘Barenboim Project 2015’ in which he’s playing the…