Manchester
CD: Blossoms - Cool Like YouWednesday, 25 April 2018
Blossoms are the latest inheritors of the massive-in-Manchester mantle that has, so often in the past, translated into massive-almost-everywhere ubiquity. That their eponymous 2016 debut album was a chart-topper shows they’re on the way, although... Read more... |
Haveron, BBC Philharmonic, Wilson, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - spirit of the 1940sMonday, 26 March 2018
John Wilson has built a reputation as a conductor which marks him out as a musicians’ musician. He doesn’t present himself with any pomposity, even wearing a neat black tie and lounge jacket on this occasion, while the male musicians around him were... Read more... |
Hansel and Gretel, RNCM, Manchester review – an urban dreamMonday, 19 March 2018
Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel is a ‘"fairytale opera" (its composer’s description), and yet one characteristic frequently commented on is its "Wagnerian" scoring. For this production, with David Pountney’s English translation, the RNCM... Read more... |
Goode, BBC Philharmonic, Gernon, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review – making beautiful musicMonday, 05 March 2018
Just over a year since his Bridgewater Hall début, Ben Gernon appeared with the BBC Philharmonic there again – this time well into his role as their Principal Guest Conductor, yet his first concert with them there since officially taking up the... Read more... |
Weilerstein, Czech Philharmonic, Netopil, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - drama and feelingTuesday, 13 February 2018
The Czech Philharmonic on tour are a familiar sight, and they have built a following appreciative of their particular qualities, since they are an orchestra with a sound of their own – the way European orchestras used to be, in some respects. A... Read more... |
Kendrick Lamar, Manchester Arena review - Kung-Fu Kenny sets the stage alightSunday, 11 February 2018
Kendrick Lamar has never been afraid to experiment. Since his first studio album, Section 80, was released in 2011, he’s explored funk, jazz, rock, soundtracks, ballads, and (of course) hip-hop, building himself a reputation based as much on his... Read more... |
John Mahoney: 'I wanted to be like everybody else'Tuesday, 06 February 2018
In 11 seasons of Frasier, John Mahoney played Marty Crane, a cussed blue-collar ex-cop who couldn’t quite understand how his loins came to produce two prissily cultured psychiatrists. His ally in straight-talking was his physiotherapist Daphne,... Read more... |
Clare College Choir, Manchester Camerata, Takács-Nagy, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review – romance and dramaThursday, 01 February 2018
It began in semi-darkness. Appropriate for Arvo Pärt, perhaps – after all, Manchester Camerata have played his music in Manchester Cathedral to great atmospheric effect in the past. But the Choir of Clare College Cambridge, conducted by Graham Ross... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Musician Mark E SmithWednesday, 24 January 2018
Since releasing their first record, Bingo Masters Breakout, Mark E Smith (b 1957) has led The Fall through some of rock music’s most extreme and enthralling terrain, cutting a lyrical and musical swathe that few other artists can match. An outsider... Read more... |
Bell, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - life and imaginationTuesday, 23 January 2018
You can’t help liking Joshua Bell. The Peter Pan violin soloist of the classical world has been in the business for more than 30 years and still has his boyish looks and, more importantly, his enthusiasm and sense of enjoyment in making music. At... Read more... |
Weilerstein, Platt, Hallé, Elder, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - insight and passionFriday, 19 January 2018
Alisa Weilerstein is making two visits to Manchester in just over three weeks. Last night it was with the Hallé, next time she’ll be guesting with the Czech Philharmonic. This one was to play the solo in Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto, with Sir... Read more... |
Lortie, BBC Philharmonic, Gardner, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review – whipping up a stormSaturday, 13 January 2018
Edward Gardner was back on familiar ground when he conducted in Manchester last night – his high-profile career began when he was appointed as the Hallé’s first-ever assistant conductor, early in Sir Mark Elder’s era – and his rapport with young... Read more... |
