18th century
Rococo: Travel, Pleasure, Madness, BBC FourWednesday, 22 January 2014
If you’re going to make a programme about the Rococo, that ornate and playful decorative arts movement that began in France at the start of the 18th century and flourished under the French king Louis XV, naturally you’d want to start in Bavaria. Or... Read more... |
Jephtha, The Sixteen, Christophers, BarbicanWednesday, 15 January 2014
You really think they’d have learned by now. Any operatic vow to sacrifice the next living creature you see in return for salvation will reliably end up with the luckless suppliant faced with their lover/son/spouse. For those who haven’t already... Read more... |
Kožená, Les Violons du Roy, Barbican HallSunday, 12 January 2014
Last night’s Mozart and Haydn concert at the Barbican was billed as Magdalena Kožená with Les Violons du Roy. In practice it actually turned out to be Les Violons du Roy with Magdalena Kožená, which (barring a few die-hard fans of the Czech mezzo)... Read more... |
Christian Zacharias, Wigmore HallThursday, 09 January 2014
It's a considerable irony that a musician as dedicated and as serious as pianist/conductor Christian Zacharias should suddenly, at the age of 63, gain bragging rights on Youtube (see next page). There wasn't really that much he could do about it. It... Read more... |
Sonia Prina, Wigmore HallTuesday, 31 December 2013
The great Marilyn Horne used to joke that she was going to release an album entitled “Chestnuts for Chest Nuts”. She never did, but that leaves the door wide open for Sonia Prina whose dark, thrillingly low sound marks her out as the real deal, a... Read more... |
Christmas Oratorio, Trinity College Choir, OAE, Layton, St John's Smith SquareMonday, 23 December 2013
Not every Yuletide fixture need be commercial and routine. Certainly St John’s annual Christmas Festival packs them in, but why wouldn’t it when the voices for the last two events, backed up by no less than the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment... Read more... |
Bach B minor Mass, Clare College Choir, Aurora Orchestra, Collon, Kings PlaceSunday, 22 December 2013
Nothing tests small-hall acoustics better than that most exuberant of holies, the Sanctus from Bach’s B minor Mass. After one of the year’s big disappointments, the blowsy sound coming from chamber ensembles in the Barbican/Guildhall School’s new... Read more... |
BBC Singers, St James's Baroque, Hill, Temple ChurchSaturday, 21 December 2013
There’s a reason why many people think Handel and, particularly his Messiah, is dull. Relatively easy to play, his music is incredibly difficult to perform well. Take this Temple Winter Festival outing with choral expert David Hill conducting the... Read more... |
Georgians Revealed, British LibrarySunday, 10 November 2013
The Georgians are in our marrow, and two of them in particular. The dawn of the age gave us Handel, who came over from Hanover with George I. Then at the sunset came the ever-exalted Jane Austen, who dedicated Emma in mock deference to the bloated... Read more... |
The Magic Flute, English National OperaFriday, 08 November 2013
There’s a scene in Mozart’s most metaphysical opera which Ingmar Bergman, creator of what is still the richest of all Magic Flutes, describes as “at the outermost limit of life”. Hero Tamino seems to have reached a point of no return and no going... Read more... |
Assassin's Creed IV: Black FlagThursday, 31 October 2013
It's the disease most feared among all mainstream videogame franchises – featuritis. That is, the endless quest for some new marketing tick box addition dreamed up to ensure the fans keep coming back. That, sadly, appears to be the rapidly looming... Read more... |
The Male Nude, Wallace CollectionWednesday, 30 October 2013
It is amazing how perceptions and attitudes change. Think of a nude and the chances are you will imagine a naked woman since, nowadays, the female body virtually monopolises the genre; naked men scarcely make an appearance in mainstream culture.... Read more... |
