ArtMuseLondon : Elizabeth, you have a double album out in which you play Mozart’s greatest piano concertos with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Why have you chosen Mozart, and why these concertos? Elizabeth : Following the difficult times we have gone through, I feel that Mozart can bring us joy, hope, and some much needed magic to…
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.
NO FEAR Igor Levit
A film by Regina Schilling The title of this fly-on-the-wall documentary about German-Russian pianist Igor Levit is taken from a comment on the Beethoven piano sonatas, music which has been more than a significant part of Levit’s life (he has recorded the complete piano sonatas for Sony Classical and performed several complete cycles of the…
ETO’s new touring opera season opens with ‘The Coronation of Poppea’ at the Hackney Empire
September 30th was an important date in the English Touring Opera diary, with its new production of Coronation of Poppea opening at the splendorous Hackney Empire. Monteverdi’s seventeenth century opera is considered by many to be a masterpiece. It is easy to see why it endures, as it contains a host of fascinating historic figures…
Sea change: ‘Peter Grimes’, English National Opera, London
I was already excited about this evening before a note had even been sung or played. The start of a new ENO season: a happy occasion in itself. But I was also new to this acclaimed David Alden production, which was last given in 2014, only a few months before I went to my very…
“micro-glimpses into countless worlds” – CASCADE Cordelia Williams, piano
This new release from pianist Cordelia Williams celebrates the notion that small is not only beautiful – but also witty, imaginative, colourful, varied, virtuosic and transcendent. The piano miniature, of which this disc is a selection of some of the best, is a genre that includes some of the most exquisite and inventive music in…
Moving images: ‘Yevonde – Life and Colour’, National Portrait Gallery, London
‘Madame Yevonde’ (born Yevonde Philone Cumbers) was a professional photographer whose versatile, pioneering career – lasting some 60 years until her death in 1975 at the age of 82 – reflected the relentless pace of change during the twentieth century. When visiting this major exhibition devoted to her work, it feels like walking through several…
András Keller, conductor of Concerto Budapest, in conversation with ArtMuseLondon
Karine Hetherington of ArtMuseLondon caught up with busy conductor András Keller, ahead of his 6-concert UK and Ireland tour with the Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra. András – you have forged a brilliant career in music, first as a solo violinist, a concertmaster and chamber musician – and you are now touring the UK with the Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra, an orchestra…
Forward thinking: ‘Science Fiction’, Science Museum, London
With a lack of planning that would probably rule me out of any responsible position in the building of a future society, I have only just made it to this captivating exhibition – which has a single week left to run. Worth catching if you’re in the area, but as ever, I’ve tried to give…
Pianist James Iman shines a fascinating new light on Debussy’s IMAGES
IMAN: ALBUM II James W. Iman, piano (Divine Art Recordings) This second album from American pianist James Iman places Debussy’s evergreen ‘Images’ alongside works by Donald Martino (1931-2005) and contemporary composer Jenny Beck (b.1985), whose work ‘Stand Still Here’ receives its premiere recording on this disc. A specialist in music written since 1900 – with…
La Bohème Italian Style at Opera Holland Park
Giacomo Puccini’s Bohème was Opera Holland Park’s popular offering this week. Natasha Metherell, Director of this production, forewent the traditional Parisian setting and opted for an Italian film set of the 1950s. This was a nod to Puccini’s homeland and a gamble which didn’t quite pay off. The stage filled with megaphones, spotlights, film cameras and…
ARTMUSELONDON 