Having declared that I intended to “do less” in 2017 to focus on more academic activities, my concert-going has been as busy as ever, and I have enjoyed some really fine performances in the first quarter of 2017. St John’s Smith Square (SJSS), now my favourite venue alongside the Wigmore Hall, is proving a rich…
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.
A young pianist’s thoughts on late style
What is Late Style? It’s a question that has long preoccupied writers and thinkers, from Theodor Adorno to Edward Said. And now Jonathan Biss, an American pianist in his mid-30s, is exploring the concept of Late Style through a series concerts featuring a variety of composers and works. His second London concert was on 27th…
An added poignancy to Howard Hodgkin’s ‘Absent Friends’
Howard Hodgkin: Absent Friends – National Portrait Gallery, London The title of the National Portrait Gallery’s new exhibition of portraits by British artist Howard Hodgkin has an added poignancy: called ‘Absent Friends’, the show opens just two weeks after the artist died at the age of 84, and thus Hodgkin himself is an absent friend…
‘Partenope’ at English National Opera
English National Opera’s 2016/17 season closes with a welcome revival of Christopher Alden’s Olivier Award-winning 2008 production of G. F. Handel’s Partenope, first staged in 1730. The plot, daft even by Baroque comic opera standards, revolves around the mythical Partelope, Queen of Naples, and her multiple suitors. Awash with braggadocio, cross-dressing and sexual intrigue, Silvio…
Maurizio Pollini proves he still has the hunger
Whenever Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini comes to London there are the gainsayers who declare that he is now “past it”, that his technique is “not what it once was” (he’s in his 70s, so we can’t really expect the nimble fleet-fingers of a man half his age!). But go to one of his concerts and…
America after the Fall: Painting in the 1930s
The big draw at the Royal Academy’s new show is a truly iconic work of art: “American Gothic” by Grant Wood. It’s one of the most recognizable images in American painting: a stern-looking couple – actually posed by Wood’s sister Nan and his dentist, Dr. Byron McKeeby – stand in front of their Carpenter Gothic…
Virtuosic concert pieces & elegant miniatures: Henselt piano works
Organised in the manner of an old-fashioned recital disc, there is much to savour and enjoy in the variety of works explored here. Virtuosic concert pieces sit comfortably alongside elegant miniatures, offering the listener a broad flavour of Henselt’s style and oeuvre.
An opera for our troubled times: ‘The Winter’s Tale’ at ENO
How to turn one of Shakespeare’s late “problem plays” into an opera? It’s something which has preoccupied conductor and composer Ryan Wigglesworth since his student days. Now 37, his ruminations have come to fruition in this commission for English National opera (ENO) and in The Winter’s Tale, he has produced an opera for our troubled…
Master meets Master – head on: Murray Perahia plays Beethoven
I wasn’t expecting to be at a concert on Monday evening, but a chance offer of a ticket to hear Murray Perahia playing my favourite Beethoven Piano Concerto led to a most enjoyable and uplifting evening at the Barbican in the company of piano friends and fine musicians. It’s hard to believe that Murray Perahia…
“Innate lyricism” – The Piano Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams
Best known for his orchestral music and songs, Ralph Vaughan Williams (RVW) is not immediately associated with music for the piano (with the exception of the piano part of his song cycle On Wenlock Edge. But this new disc from SOMM demonstrates his skill and imagination when writing for this instrument. Mark Bebbington, a champion…
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