Prom 31 Anne-Sophie Mutter, Daniel Barenboim, and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra Royal Albert Hall With violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and conductor Daniel Barenboim on stage, Prom 31 boasted two of t...Read More
Lars Vogt remembered, By Michael Church Can one play vibrato on the piano? Since it’s just a box of hammers, with each making only momentary contact with its string, the common-sense answer m...Read More
Figure St John Passion St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield In medieval times, miracles were often ascribed to the healing power of the priory at St Bartholomew the Great, London’s oldest parish chu...Read More
Bach Choir/OAE/David Hill, Royal Festival Hall, London The Southbank Centre may no longer be London’s principal haven for classical music – years of wayward leadership have taken their toll R...Read More
Angela Hewitt, Wigmore hall Angela Hewitt’s stamina is impressive. Over the past four years her Bach Odyssey has taken her round the globe, playing every note of Bach’s vast keyboard oeuvre. Sheâ€...Read More
Orchestra and Choir of the Age of Enlightenment/Rattle, Royal Festival Hall Should Bach’s Passions be staged? They increasingly are, and there are good supporting arguments, particularly in the ca...Read More
There are two words – ‘weinte bitterlich’- in a recitative in Bach’s darkly dramatic Johannespassion when the Evangelist must negotiate his path alone through a frenzy of melodic and emotional...Read More
Recital round-up No 53 for International Piano Magazine – April 2019 Wigmore Hall: Kirill Gerstein, Feb 24; Garrick Ohlsson, Feb 27 Royal Festival Hall: Angela Hewitt, Feb 26 Barbican: Arcadi Volodo...Read More
Leeds International Piano Competition, 2018 When the redoubtable Fanny Waterman set up the Leeds Piano Competition in 1963, no one could have predicted its longevity, or the effect it would have on pi...Read More