When I first heard cellist-composer Jo Quail perform – back in 2013, in a solo support slot – it was immediately clear that she occupied a genre all her own. A kindred spirit, for sure, with other musicians active in the dark folk / neoclassical / what-you-will underground – especially fellow ‘loopers’ (like Matt Howden,…
Category: Concert
Through roots: an African Concert Series update (and more)
This is a public service announcement! – an all-purpose post rounding up some recent African Concert Series activity, with a look ahead to some events and releases to come. The latest African Concert Series day at Wigmore Hall took place on 19 July this year. As ever, pianist and curator Rebeca Omordia assembled a remarkable…
A Beautiful Thread: Thomas Hardy’s Words and Music in Dorset
Stinsford church, near Dorchester in Dorset, just a short distance from Thomas Hardy’s birthplace at Upper Bockhampton, and the place where his heart is buried, provided the perfect setting for A Beautiful Thread, a new words and music concert concept from the ever-inventive Orchestra of the Swan (OOTS). Produced to coincide with the 150th anniversary…
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…
Martha and Marios duo – a match made at the Barbican
To the Barbican Centre I went last week to see Martha Argerich perform Beethoven’s Concerto no. 2 in B flat major with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. On the program also, Samuel-Coleridge Taylor ‘s Ballade in A minor and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 4 in F minor. Outside the Barbican auditorium a long queue snaked around the pillars of…
Passion players: Sasha Cooke & Malcolm Martineau, Wigmore Hall, London
Before this recital, I’d only had relatively few opportunities to hear mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke live. The first occasion was Handel’s ‘Orlando’ in concert at London’s Barbican in 2016, an evening of such brilliance, I still think about it often. Cooke gave a memorable performance as Medoro (alongside other favourites of mine, including Iestyn Davies and…
The Kukal Quartet make their UK debut at the Czech Centre London
2024 has been the “Year of Czech Music” at the Czech Centre, London. Concerts and films have abounded to remind Londoners not only of the Czech Republic’s incredibly rich heritage but also of its continuing support for its emerging arts and music. One Czech quartet which came to my attention this week was the Kukal…
Spiritual awakening: Leon Bosch & Rebeca Omordia in concert and on disc
The African Concert Series was originally founded and curated by pianist Rebeca Omordia to shine a spotlight on African art music: the diverse work of African composers who, as the series website explains, create “a bridge between Western classical music and African traditional music”. Launched in 2019, the series has had a torrid infancy. After…
Noriko Ogawa – soon to play at King’s Place, speaks to ArtMuseLondon
Pianist Noriko Ogawa is an internationally respected pianist and recording artist. She is one of the judges of the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition and is soon to play at King’s Place with the current winner of the 2023 Hamamatsu International Piano Competition, pianist, Can Çakmur, On 19th January 2024 you will be playing with Can at…
The Golden Road to Samarkand – Joseph Tawadros, Zeb Soames and Britten Sinfonia
Joseph Tawadros Constellation Three Stages of Hindsight [world premiere; arranged Tawadros and orchestrated Alex Palmer] Constantinople Delius Hassan What a joy of a concert! Superb venue – the wonderful Milton Court concert hall which is the Guildhall School of Music and Drama’s new performance venue – fabulous soloists (of which more in a minute) and…
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