Emmanuel Despax’s boyhood was spent discussing music and poetry with his poet grandfather, Jacques Charpentreau, over French patisseries. Memories of those perfect moments spent with his beloved relative, listening to Debussy, Poulenc, Ravel, Saint Saëns, has led to Despax’s latest piano release, Après un rêve. Some works are daringly familiar. Debussy’s Clair de Lune, for instance, is…
ECHOES: genre-busting inventiveness from Orchestra of the Swan
‘Echoes’ is the latest in Orchestra of the Swan’s ‘mixtape’ series, following on from ‘Timelapse’ and ‘Labyrinths’ (which has received over 8 million audio streams since 2021 and was shortlisted for Gramophone award in the Spatial Audio category). As with their previous mixtape albums, ‘Echoes’ is an eclectic mix of music encompassing a variety of…
A Sublime ‘Hansel and Gretel’ at Opera Holland Park
Opera Holland Park’s decision to take on Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel & Gretel this 2023 season was inspired and not only because the story chimes with societal concerns over child poverty and hunger. There are many reasons to see this late 19th century opera, which is far from political and more religious in sentiment, the libretto having been…
Pretty good together: Barb Jungr and her Trio, ‘My Marquee’
To paraphrase Bob Dylan, one of her heroes and creative touchstones, Barb Jungr contains multitudes. Anyone familiar with her work will know what a versatile talent she is. She personifies what cabaret at its absolute finest can be. She’s a consummate jazz vocalist – commanding, beguiling and arresting whether working within that genre or careering…
The Fairy Queen. Purcell in a Pastoral Setting
On July 1st, for one evening only, The Fairy Queen will be performed in the gardens of Wyke House in Somerset. ArtMuseLondon’s opera reviewer, Karine Hetherington, went to talk to bass-baritone, Timothy Dickinson, and soprano, Amy Carson about Purcell’s opera. Why did you choose this opera? Timothy : Having presented Acis & Galatea, the pinnacle of so-called…
Opera Holland Park Delivers A Polished Production of Rigoletto
Verdi’s opera Rigoletto marked the beginning of Opera Holland Park’s 2023 season last week. The story of a disabled jester who feels trapped in a society he despises makes for good drama. Not surprisingly Verdi saw in the court jester Rigoletto “A Creation worthy of Shakespeare”. “If I am evil – you are to blame”, Rigoletto sings but…
BAGATELLES Piano Music by Bernard Hughes
What makes this album truly special is the culmination of many years of collaboration between Bernard Hughes and pianist Matthew Mills, who commissioned and premieres Partita Contrafacta on the disc. The two musicians have been working together for years, resulting in a deep understanding of each other’s artistic vision and an unparalleled ability to bring Hughes’ compositions to life on the piano, which he does masterfully with colour and vigour, humour and warmth.
Beat poetry: Rick Simpson, ‘Twice Shaded’
After a few listens, this album feels like a heroically original achievement: without doubt, a jazz record, but unpredictable in ways one wouldn’t have predicted. Warm yet inscrutable; modest in approach but confident and fizzing with ideas: it’s improvised music that feels as though it’s always existed. How can something so spontaneous feel so permanent?…
Self-portrait: Berthe Morisot – ‘Shaping Impressionism’, Dulwich Picture Gallery
As this fascinating exhibition points out in its opening text panel, Berthe Morisot (1841-95) was an active participant in the Impressionist movement, fully-appreciated and successful in her lifetime. She presented her work in all but one of the major Impressionist exhibitions, missing only 1879, after giving birth to her daughter a few months earlier. There…
An inspired pairing: Schubert piano sonatas D537 & D959 | Garrick Ohlsson
Ten years separate the composition of these two piano sonatas by Franz Schubert. The earlier one, in A minor, was completed in 1817 when Schubert was just twenty, but had already written some 250 lieder. Having left several incomplete piano sonatas in the preceding years, he returned to the form with renewed enthusiasm, perhaps inspired…
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