20th century
Accolade, Finborough TheatreSaturday, 05 February 2011
Emlyn Williams may have been dubbed the “Welsh Noël Coward” and the action of his long-neglected Accolade may take place in a drawing room, but there’s little of the smiling social comedy to be found here. Trading sparkling cocktails and repartee... Read more... |
CBSO, Nelsons, Symphony Hall, BirminghamThursday, 03 February 2011
Mahler cycles in his centenary year are about as predictable as dead leaves in autumn. But they perhaps belong more in Birmingham than in some other cities. Mahler, after all, was a big factor in making Simon Rattle’s name, and Rattle was a big... Read more... |
Bronfman, Philharmonia, Salonen, Royal Festival HallFriday, 28 January 2011
"You have to start somewhere," remarked Debussy drily at the 1910 premiere of young Stravinsky's Firebird ballet. Even so, that was far more of a somewhere than the ultra-nationalistic Hungarian tone poem Kossuth, first major orchestral flourish of... Read more... |
Classical CDs Round-Up 15Friday, 21 January 2011
This month’s carefully sifted new releases include some quirky Americana and a piano filled with ping-pong balls. A Baroque specialist plays some ripe orchestral transcriptions and a neglected cello concerto gets a new ending. Six Danish symphonies... Read more... |
Into the Whirlwind, Sovremennik, Noël Coward TheatreFriday, 21 January 2011
Tradition has often bedded down very comfortably in the Russian performing arts, which ought to be an asset in the current vortex but brings mixed blessings. Detailed ensemble work, the Moscow Sovremennik Theatre's strongest asset, takes time to... Read more... |
Enemies of the PeopleThursday, 09 December 2010
Two members of Thet Sambath’s immediate family were murdered during the Khmer Rouge’s time in power in Cambodia. His father was killed when he objected to the organisation's seizure of his property, while his mother was then forced into marriage... Read more... |
Swallows and Amazons, Bristol Old VicThursday, 09 December 2010
Swallows and Amazons is a quintessentially English story: a heart-warming hymn to decent values, the codes of sailing and the youthful spirit of adventure. Set in 1929, at a time when the country faced financial meltdown, it is perhaps not... Read more... |
Travel films from the dawn of movie timeTuesday, 07 December 2010
Some rare restored film of pre-First World War Europe, shot by intrepid travelling cameramen from 1905 to 1926, is being shown tomorrow in an intriguing event at Europe House, the new home of the EU in London. Travelogues were a very popular early... Read more... |
MiralTuesday, 30 November 2010
With a script co-written by the Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal, based on her 2004 book of the same title, Miral follows the interconnected lives of four women caught up in the Arab-Israeli conflict. It’s a sprawling, epic affair, directed by... Read more... |
Cinderella, Royal BalletSunday, 21 November 2010
Christmas rolls around, and so does Cinderella, a welcome alternative to the seasonal dance-critic bah-humbug that is The Nutcracker. First, the good news. The good news is Marianela Nuñez. Always a lovely dancer, in Ashton she just glows. No one... Read more... |
Angela Hewitt, Wigmore HallSunday, 21 November 2010
In 1932 English pianist Harriet Cohen commissioned the best of Britain’s composers – Vaughan Williams, Ireland, Walton, Howells – to produce transcriptions of Bach for piano. The result, A Bach Book for Harriet Cohen, is a true document of its time... Read more... |
The Penguin Jazz Guide: The 1001 Best AlbumsSunday, 07 November 2010
It's a curious fact that, for whole swathes of the music-buying public, their jazz collection has never grown beyond the ubiquitous Kind of Blue. OK, it's a seminal masterpiece which continues to sell like shovels in a snow storm. But why stop there... Read more... |
