festivals
theartsdesk in Prague: Czech Spring with Smetana and MartinůSunday, 05 June 2016
On the itinerary of musical tourists around Europe, the opening of the Prague Spring Festival comes a close third to the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year's Day Concert and the Bayreuth experience. That said, Smetana's Má vlast (My Homeland) – the... Read more... |
Alfresco Festival 2016, Royal Tunbridge WellsSaturday, 04 June 2016
I looked around at the grime-flecked warehouse and surveyed the brick parquet floor. Even the dappled sunlight and birdsong couldn’t soften the realisation – or the ground, for that matter. “We’re going to struggle to get a tent peg in this,” I... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Göttingen: HandelFest 2016Saturday, 21 May 2016
What Auden called "the sexy airs of summer" arrived early in Göttingen this year. Frog action in the Botanical Gardens of the town's pioneering University may have been less clamorous than when I first came here in late rather than early May (the... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Denmark: Ambition and Attack in Aalborg and AarhusWednesday, 04 May 2016
Denmark is casting a shadow in a way it has not done before. The international success of Copenhagen’s Lukas Graham is unprecedented. While Aqua, The Ravonettes, Efterklang and Trentemøller are amongst the great Danes who have made international... Read more... |
Preview: International Dance Festival Birmingham 2016Monday, 11 April 2016
International Dance Festival Birmingham (IDFB) is one of the unsung heroes not just of dance in Britain, but of festivals. It treats anyone within striking distance of the West Midlands to an exciting range of performers and public dance events over... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Estonia: Tallinn Music Week 2016Sunday, 10 April 2016
“If we want to keep this free and democratic Europe of ours free and democratic, we must enlist ourselves, our skills and our commitment to liberty and justice. The problems we face are too great to simply say let the politicians do it. I say this... Read more... |
Brighton Festival: 1967 and All ThatFriday, 01 April 2016
With the 50th Brighton Festival taking place this year, Festival CEO Andrew Comben meets theartsdesk for a chat about the original 1967 event, and its relationship with this year’s Festival. Comben has been the Brighton Festival's overall manager... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Groningen: Uniting Europe with MusicSunday, 24 January 2016
The nature of Europe, its administration, institutions and its porousness are hot topics. Sectors of Britain’s media and political class hyperventilate over trumped-up concerns while real issues which are just about impossible to address remain... Read more... |
theartsfest 2015 - SundayWednesday, 30 December 2015
So, the first day's done. We awake, bleary-eyed and emerge from our tents and survey the scene. No matter how bad it looks for our immediate future health, the clouds are sure to clear before the inaugural beer and opening bands. The quality... Read more... |
theartsfest 2015 - SaturdayTuesday, 29 December 2015
The festival market is one that has, like much of Britain, become oversaturated of late. Here at theartsdesk however, we feel that there’s room for one more as long as it’s of the highest possible quality. Here, then, is our line-up, a dream... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Reykjavík: Iceland Airwaves 2015Sunday, 15 November 2015
The attack is relentless. Its power pummels like a gale. The 2015 model Mercury Rev begin their set at Iceland Airwaves as they meant to finish. Never has this band been so forceful, so kinetic. Yet their trademark balance of filmic drama and... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Paris: Peregrinations on the PigalleWednesday, 04 November 2015
Sometimes appearances can be deceptive. The frontman on stage looks as generic it gets. His scruffy beard, retro specs, baseball hat, shapeless jeans and the bulging outline of a mobile phone stuffed in his trouser pocket don’t add up to suggest... Read more... |
