At a time when the outside world desperately needs to recognise the importance of the arts, it’s fitting to see an entire exhibition of art on a mission to engage directly with the outside world. ‘Among the Trees’ includes pieces from 37 artists (based worldwide), working in a range of media: as we wander through…
Mezzo soprano Paula Murrihy takes a walk on the wild side
On her new recording I Will Walk With Love, Irish mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy demonstrates a natural talent for singing German lieder, having honed her linguistic skills at the Frankfurt Opera house. She also sensibly combines Brahms, Mahler and Grieg songs with some Debussy. Les chansons de Bilitis adds a welcome French frisson to the Germanic…
Vladimir Horowitz’s secret life revealed in quirky novel by Lea Singer
Vladimir Horowitz is probably the most famous concert pianist of all time. Wherever he performed, he drew legions of fans right up to his death in 1989. Audiences flocked to see the supernatural energy he brought to Chopin, Liszt, Brahms and other favourites from the romantic repertoire. There is no doubt, he was both virtuoso artist…
Across time and space: Carolyn Sampson & Matthew Wadsworth at Wigmore Hall
Even if there had been no lockdown, and no live music drought to go with it, I think I would have been excited about this concert to borderline-unmanageable levels. Carolyn Sampson is one of my very favourite singers, and – to my delight – has shown a strong focus on art song in recent years,…
Hoffmeister’s Magic Flute
Franz Anton Hoffmeister was surprisingly absent from my Oxford Companion to Music when I tried to look him up for the purposes of this review. This is surprising as his musical output at the end of the 18th century – early 19th century showed him to be quite prolific. He produced a total of sixty-six…
Guitarist Jakob Bangsø and the soul of the troubadour
This month I was very keen to hear Danish guitarist, Jakob Bangsø, play three contemporary guitar concertos on a recording he made with Orchid Classics. First out on the album is Troubadours by composer John Corigliano, written in 1993. Corigliano has a long career behind him but was nervous about writing a guitar concerto. Concerns…
Promentum..!
Many of you reading this will be aware that the pandemically-adjusted 2020 Proms season has just shifted up a gear. Since mid-July, the BBC has raided its archives and broadcast selected performances from past years. Now, however, there is an all-too-brief fortnight of live performances from an audience-free Royal Albert Hall, available on various platforms…
Sarah Beth Briggs makes The Austrian Connection
‘The Austrian Connection’ traces the compositional links between four Austrian composers: Hans Gál (1890-1987) was perhaps the last great composer to uphold the tonal Austro-German tradition that began with Haydn and Mozart, and, arguably, reached its apogee in the music of Schubert
Venice with Turner
Like Canaletto before him, and Monet after him, J M W Turner (1775-1851) was intrigued and beguiled by Venice – the magical play of light and water, glimmering reflections of wedding cake palaces in the waters of the canals and the lagoon, the crumbling majesty of the buildings, the backstreets and alleys
Sensuous, Intimate and Evocative – Ravel: Le Langage des Fleurs
Ann Martin-Davis, piano (Guild Music) Maurice Ravel has been an enduring part of pianist Ann Martin-Davis’ musical life and in the liner notes to her new collection of his piano music, she relates an anecdote which gave her a special connection to the composer. Having played the middle movement of Ravel’s Sonatine to the renowned…
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