Arts
Why did Goya’s sitters put up with his brutal honesty?
Sometimes, contrary to a widespread suspicion, critics do get it right. On 17 August, 1798 an anonymous contributor to the…
Modernity, whisky and cats: the J.G. Ballard I knew
That cinema is having another Ballardian moment will surprise few fans. J.G. Ballard, who died of cancer in 2009 at…
Why I’m stepping down after 28 years as The Spectator pop critic
Pop's place in culture has changed drastically. Marcus Berkmann explains why, after 27 years, it is time to step down as The Spectator's pop critic
Culture buff
It’s a fairly assertive title: The Greats -Masterpieces of the National Galleries of Scotland. The assertiveness is justified; the galleries…
Cats, whisky and modernity: the J.G. Ballard I knew
That cinema is having another Ballardian moment will surprise few fans. J.G. Ballard, who died of cancer in 2009 at…
They do more than just ninny about in elaborate hats, thank Christ: Suffragette reviewed
Suffragette is one of those films in which the parts are greater than the sum. Or, in this instance, the…
Why I’m stepping down after 28 years as The Spectator pop critic
This is my 345th and last monthly column about pop music for The Spectator. I believe I might be the…
Why did Goya’s sitters put up with his brutal honesty?
Sometimes, contrary to a widespread suspicion, critics do get it right. On 17 August, 1798 an anonymous contributor to the…
Please let’s have more musicals like this Kiss Me, Kate at Opera North
Opera North’s new production of Cole Porter’s masterwork Kiss Me, Kate has been so widely and justly praised that I…
Please let’s have more musicals like this Kiss Me, Kate at Opera North
Opera North’s new production of Cole Porter’s masterwork Kiss Me, Kate has been so widely and justly praised that I…
It may have a meagre script and no plot but Farinelli and the King is still a major work of art
Philippe V was a Bourbon prince who secured the throne of Spain using his family connections. Claire van Kampen is…
It may have a meagre script and no plot but Farinelli and the King is still a major work of art
Philippe V was a Bourbon prince who secured the throne of Spain using his family connections. Claire van Kampen is…
I’ve never thought much of John Lennon’s music – until now
It’s probably blasphemous to admit that I’ve never thought very much of John Lennon’s music. Common sense tells me it…
I’ve never thought much of John Lennon’s music – until now
It’s probably blasphemous to admit that I’ve never thought very much of John Lennon’s music. Common sense tells me it…
Was BBC1’s Rooney hagiography more scripted reality than documentary?
Close to the Edge (BBC4, Tuesday) feels very much like an idea conceived during a particularly good night in the…
German refugees transformed British cultural life - but at a price
German-speaking refugees dragged British culture into the 20th century. But that didn’t go down well in Stepney or Stevenage, says William Cook
Horridly magnificent - but real problems occur when anyone opens their mouth: Macbeth reviewed
Who goes to big-screen Shakespeare? Not theatre-goers much, and with reason. Apart from the odd corker by Kurosawa, arguably Olivier…
Thank god for bored wives: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the ENO reviewed
‘Kiss me, Sergei! Kiss me hard! Kiss me until the icons fall and split!’ sings Katerina Ismailova, adulterous antiheroine of…
The best ballerinas in Britain at the moment are hairy and male
There was blood on the walls and floor at the birth of Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet in 1965. The…
Culture buff
1989 saw the establishment by Paul Dyer of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra with the assistance of Bruce Applebaum as General…
Half-brilliant: Mr Foote’s Other Leg at Hampstead Theatre reviewed
Samuel Foote (1720–77) was a star of the 18th-century stage who avoided the censors by extemporising his performances. Today we’d…
Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s films verge on the incomprehensible — but that doesn’t stop him being a genius
London’s Goethe-Institut has a two-month season of films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder (whose 70th anniversary it’s celebrating), but only five…
On the frontiers of figuration, abstraction and total immateriality
The artist, according to Walter Sickert, ‘is he who can take a piece of flint and wring out of it…
James Delingpole discovers the fons et origo of indie music
I really hadn’t meant to write a postscript to last week’s column on my dark Supertramp past. But then along…
Why we should embrace being average
Maybe what we love about radio is the way that most of its programming allows us the luxury of staying…
