Both before and after the three differing versions (1805, 1806 and 1814) of Fidelio he tried out, Beethoven practised writing opera in extenso, taking lessons from Salieri (although fiercely rejecting his criticism of the eventual product) and starting a first full-scale opera, Vestas Feuer, in collaboration with Die Zauberflöte librettist Emanuel Schikaneder. But, dismayed to […]
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In an interview which originally appeared in the July 2004 issue of Gramophone, the late actor and satirist looks for the challenge of music MORE
Right at the end of my conversation with Alexandre Kantorow, I happen to ask him what else he is putting on his recording with Brahms’s Sonata No 2 in F sharp minor. Just as well, because his answer illustrates perfectly his concept of the work. He sees it as a rhapsody. ‘The idea was to […]
The iconic tenor of my lifetime – and in terms of sheer voice, the very best – was Luciano Pavarotti. I only heard him once in the flesh, in a production of Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera at London’s Royal Opera House. His interest in the stage action was limited, but his vocal resources were […]
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/19/radu-lupu-piano-five-key-performances
The first complete recording of Rachmaninov’s solo vocal oeuvre is electrifying, says Rupert Christiansen Continue HERE
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-61215906
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/26/proms-2022-back-to-normal-but-why-settle-for-normal
Donald Macleod explores the lifelong friendship between Brahms and the violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim, and the music of genius that resulted. Throughout his life, Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) enjoyed the close friendship of two kindred musical spirits: the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim. Yet whilst his relationship with the former is much-pored over […]
Beethoven’s 250th anniversary was not the year any of us were expecting, but, as symphony cycles and opera productions were cancelled, his music spoke to us in deeper, more intimate ways. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/dec/27/every-note-pulses-with-life-and-warmth-boris-giltburg-beethoven-250th-
This Vaughan Williams recital makes an unusually satisfying impression, and it may not be immediately clear why. There’s quite a bit of unfamiliar material, some of it in unusual versions for which there was no pressing need. But the whole thing hangs together, creates a mood of intimacy, and draws you into the composer’s world. […]
From the archive; Tom Service writes: The simple facts of Franz Schubert’s life shed little light on the enormous emotional range of his music, and the seismic effect his work has had. Living almost entirely in his home town of Vienna, he was a loyal but occasionally cantankerous and drunk friend to a tight-knit groups of […]
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/other/article/bach-s-violin-concertos-isabelle-faust
Roger Dobson writes: Beethoven’s music may really have come from the heart. The composer may have been suffering from a heart rhythm disorder, arrhythmia, which is reflected in his works, researchers say. And the irregular heartbeat sensations he felt – and his increased sensitivity due to deafness – could be literally at the heart of […]
A brief history of the symphony The symphony first appeared on programmes – inevitably in aristocratic settings – during the early years of the 18th century, often a natural development from the Italian overture (which usually comprised three movements). By the 1770s, the four-movement form we usually think of was established and one of its […]
Among the hundreds of recordings of late Mozart piano concertos on the market, including many of this particular pairing, this one of Poland’s Piotr Anderszewski at the keyboard and conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Europe is a major standout. Though played on a modern piano, it brings together several trends that have lately been explored […]
The tenor talks to Gramophone’s Editor Martin Cullingford ahead of a landmark recital at the Royal Albert Hall Continues HERE
The first of a trio of concerts focusing on Shostakovich’s string quartets saw the Emersons bring a persuasive intensity to the Russian dissident composer’s music MORE
It is crucial, with Callas, to allow the strengths ascendancy over the technical frailties. It was her genius, for example, that restored Bellini to us and rescued Lucia from ridicule. By Andrew Porter Continues HERE
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jul/23/strauss-the-complete-songs-8-review-roger-vignoles-nicky-spence-rebecca-evans-richard#img-1
From 2013 – but still very good reading! https://www.theguardian.com/music/series/a-guide-to-contemporary-classical-music
Bojan Bujic on the Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra’s decision to remove the Russian composer’s work from its programme ‘It is important to bear in mind that Tchaikovsky wrote the piece to a commission; he did not like the finished work and, with justification, considered it of doubtful value.’ Photograph: EPALettersSun 13 Mar 2022 18.25 GMTLast modified […]
Royal Opera House, LondonDeborah Warner’s detailed new production sets Britten’s opera in a decayed coastal town in post-Brexit Britain. Allan Clayton – on top form – leads an outstanding cast; conductor Mark Elder emphasises the score’s beauty and well as its violence Joe Cornish on how he got hooked on BrittenPhoto essay: Everyone has blood […]
Originally published November 2013 The arts interview: In the week of Benjamin Britten’s centenary Oliver Knussen, in a rare interview, tells Fiona Maddocks about their meeting in Aldeburgh, and the ongoing friendship that inspired his career as a composer. Continues HERE