Any cinema enthusiasts within visiting distance of Berlin should head to the Kulturforum (the city’s major arts complex located near Potsdamer Platz) before the end of February. Until then, it plays host to ‘The Big Screen’, a huge, wide-ranging exhibition chronicling the development of the film poster, alongside the evolution of cinema itself. A show…
Author: ArtMuseLondon
ArtMuseLondon is a site for reviews of art exhibitions and music in London, and general cultural musings, written by people with a keen interest and an honest, accessible approach.
Songs for Our Times: A unique collaboration to support classical music and composers
“Songs for our Times” is the result of a unique collaboration between two leading British contemporary classical music composers, Stuart MacRae and Bernard Hughes, and Nigerian-American poet/lyricist and medical doctor Chinwe D. John. I first encountered Chinwe’s writing in March 2022 when an EP of settings of some of her poems, “Within A Certain Time…
Vow of violence: ‘Jephtha’, Royal Opera House, London
‘Jephtha’ was Handel’s final oratorio. He was losing his sight during its composition – ironic, perhaps, that his zealot hero is undone by what he sees at a crucial moment. And, given the work’s power and torment, it is hard not to sense Handel raging against the literal dying of the light. For those unfamiliar…
Screening of ‘Il Boemo’ at the 27th Made in Prague Festival sheds new light on forgotten composer, Josef Mysliveček who would become Mozart’s mentor.
The 27th Made in Prague Festival is a long-established arts festival showcasing Czech culture in London. New to the festival, I made my way to the Prince Charles Cinema in Soho last Saturday to attend a special gala screening of the film Il Boemo. Il Boemo translates as The Boemian or The Czech, and relates to Czech musician, Josef Mysliveček,…
7 Deaths of Maria Callas and Callas Paris 1958
This is an important year for Maria Callas fans – this being the centenary year of her birth. Artistic tributes to La Divina, (Callas’s nickname), kicked off with Serbian performance artist, Marina Abramović, who used the English National Opera to explore her obsession with Callas. 7 Deaths of Maria Callas is no ordinary opera as you…
Dying inside: ‘7 Deaths of Maria Callas’, English National Opera, London
‘7 Deaths of Maria Callas’ is described as an “opera project”, the brainchild of performance artist Marina Abramović. The timing is ideal – English National Opera (ENO) describes the piece as “celebratory”, as we approach the centenary of Callas’s birth on 2 December; while Abramović is currently the subject of a major retrospective at the…
‘Letter(s) to Erik Satie’ – Pianist Bertrand Chamayou explores the Cage Satie Connection
In Letter(s) to Erik Satie, Bertrand Chamayou celebrates the works of Erik Satie (1866-1925) and John Cage (1912-1992). Satie and Cage might seem an unusual pairing, yet both were idiosyncratic composers, separated by time and geography. The cabarets of 19th century Paris were Satie’s training ground, whereas Cage a conceptual artist from California was blooming…
Astral peaks: Raf and O, ‘We are Stars’
This is the most exquisite album yet from Raf and O, who I believe belong to that select group of artists who create not only great music, but also a universe in which that music can live and breathe. Open and upfront about their key influences – chiefly David Bowie and Kate Bush, more of…
Quiet Rhythms Live at Spectrum NYC
Dynamically quiet yet profoundly expressive, this is mesmerising music that ebbs and flows
Rigour & Freedom: FANTASIA – Igor Levit, piano
FANTASIA Works by JS Bach, Berg, Busoni, Liszt, Schubert Igor Levit (piano) Sony Classical 19658811642 (2 discs) Igor Levit, dubbed by The New Yorker as a pianist “like no other”, doesn’t do things by halves. He has forged a reputation and loyal following around the world by performing and recording some of the most challenging…
ARTMUSELONDON 