The Rite of Spring is probably the most exciting piece of orchestral music ever to have been written. Composed by Igor Stravinsky, and conceived originally as a ballet score, it first hit the stage in Paris in 1913 with Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes company. A riot famously erupted that first night at the Champs- Elysées theatre where…
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.
Self taut: Barbara Hepworth ‘Strings’, Piano Nobile
I managed to see this exquisite exhibition with only a few days to spare: it closes on 2 May. If you are in the right place at the right time – Holland Park, London – I urge you to go if you can. For those of you who cannot get there, here is a brief…
Learning to Listen – a Lost Art Recovered
It’s funny how some random experiences can teach us important lessons in life. On an Air France flight across the Atlantic recently, I clapped on a new set of Bose wireless headphones and within minutes a stewardess was squeezing my shoulder. I looked up and saw her mouth flapping – but she made no sound….
The Cartier success story – the tale of three brothers
The Cartier show at the V&A is officially open and what a glittering show it promises to be! I haven’t been yet and before taking myself along to South Kensington, I have been perusing the pages of Cartier, a V&A publication, which accompanies the exhibition. The heavy tome is a catalogue of sumptuous jewellery that…
Song cycle: Carolyn Sampson & Joseph Middleton, ‘Schubert’s Four Seasons’
Carolyn Sampson deftly sidesteps that ‘difficult 103rd album’ syndrome, teaming up with regular duo partner Joseph Middleton on the remarkable ‘Schubert’s Four Seasons’ – a worthy successor to their first two releases dedicated to this composer, ‘A Soprano’s Schubertiade’ and ‘Elysium’. Followers of this team will be well aware of their gift for programming, and…
Playing Debussy on his Blüthner was a ‘head-spinning experience’
French pianist François Dumont has still not quite recovered from ‘the excitement, the anxiety’ of playing “Clair de Lune” on Debussy’s own Blüthner piano in a remote French museum. Dumont is one of the select few pianists ever allowed to touch the instrument, now fully restored and in mint condition. It was his credibility as…
Bechstein Hall – London’s high tech salon
The new kid on the block for classical music is Bechstein Hall, a new 100-seater recital space which opened at 22 Wigmore Street at the end of last year. Sporting a flagship showroom for its concert pianos, and thirteen practice rooms, Bechstein’s focus is still on promoting its world-class pianos, but what everyone is getting…
New tradition: an African Concert Series update
Back in 2018, pianist Rebeca Omordia released a solo recital CD called ‘Ekele’, which showcased African art music – that is, works by African composers who had studied and were influenced by Western classical repertoire. To me – and no doubt many others who came across the album – it was an ear-opening journey into…
‘Chiseled in Crystal’ – Discover the Haunting Music of Anima Mea
Guest review by Michael Johnson It is a rare occurrence for me to slide a CD into my player and fall immediately under the spell of haunting, hypnotic music I had never heard before. But “Anima Mea” (La Musica LMU 094), performed by the Pascal Trio and the young counter-tenor Paul Figuier, did just that….
ENO orchestra accompanies NOS young artists to stardom at Sinfonia Smith Square
Have you ever wondered how opera stars are made? One tends to think of a simplistic scenario, one in which opera stars are born with a god-given voice, which, eventually, projects them to fame. But life is not a TV competition. For most young artists, there is a process, and it can be lengthy, lonely…
ARTMUSELONDON 