How Claudio Abbado bridged old and new
Not long ago the great conductors of classical music were general practitioners. They expected to give satisfactory interpretations of music…
Could this be the year of C.P.E. Bach?
Looking through the list of composers who celebrate some sort of anniversary in 2014 is a depressing business. I don’t…
A century before Miley Cyrus, it was male performers — like Nijinsky — who bared all
While the airwaves resonate with celebrations of Britten’s birth, I cannot help thinking that what was happening in Paris at…
Peter Phillips: I saw the other side of John Taverner
When I first met John Tavener in 1977, he was still largely known for his dramatic cantata The Whale, which…
How to conduct a Tallis motet in a cardboard cathedral
To undertake a concert tour of New Zealand’s cathedrals at the moment is to be constantly reminded of the destructive…
Does London really need another concert hall?
Does London need another concert hall? Or, to put it more precisely, does London need another chamber music hall? The…
Musicians are roasting at the Proms; freezing at the Bachathon
Gossip that an orchestral player fainted while performing in the Albert Hall during the recent heatwave points to a strange…
70th anniversary of Composer of the Week
Mention of the 70th anniversary of Composer of the Week brings to mind a distinguished list of long-running programmes on…
Fête de la Musique: Couldn’t we just get over ourselves, risk a bit of foreign and join
One of the many cultural initiatives to have come out of France in the past 50 years — and therefore…
