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…
Category: review
‘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…
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…
Exploring Stephen Hough’s ‘The World of Yesterday’: A New Piano Concerto
‘The World of Yesterday’ – written & performed by Sir Stephen Hough, Halle orchestra, Sir Mark Elder British pianist Sir Stephen Hough hadn’t intended to write a piano concerto. But during the dark days of the COVID pandemic, he was approached to write a score for a film about a concert pianist writing a piano…
Blood ties: ‘Festen’, Royal Opera; ‘Mary, Queen of Scots’, English National Opera
It’s been an intense week. Two operas, over two consecutive evenings, spent with two explosively dysfunctional onstage families. Time to decompress. If you keep an eye on London operantics, you’ll be aware of the world première of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s ‘Festen’ (libretto by Lee Hall, directed by Richard Jones) at Royal Ballet & Opera. And if…
10th Anniversary of Philip Glass’s Etudes: A New Interpretation
To mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of Philip Glass’s 20 Etudes for piano in November 2024, SOMM Recordings has released a Special Edition of Selected Etudes, performed by pianist and composer, Giusto Di Lallo. Following in the Etude-writing tradition of Chopin and Liszt – pedagogical tools to help pianists improve their playing –…
No limit: Barb Jungr and her Trio, ‘Hallelujah on Desolation Row’
While Barb Jungr has interpreted a range of songs by both Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen throughout her career, this marvellous new release is only her second album to bring them together as ‘twindred spirits’ of sorts. The first, ‘Hard Rain’, is an essential, blistering listen, focusing on the politics in the poetry. However, this…
Retrospecstive 2024: Adrian Ainsworth’s albums of the year
Time again for my annual labour of love, rounding up my favourite releases of the past year. As usual, I’ve ranged across genres as freely as I can in the time and space available – so I sincerely hope you will browse through the selections and find something intriguing. A bit of housekeeping. Where possible,…
Z.R.I.’s Café Danube: A Musical Journey
The ensemble Z.R.I. take their name from Zum Roten Igel, or ‘To the Red Hedgehog’, the tavern in 19th century Vienna where Schubert and Brahms went to hear Gypsy and folk music. From their radical re-scoring of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet to include accordion and santouri (dulcimer), Z.R.I. create captivating programmes and recordings with their…
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