Classical music – ARTMUSELONDON

Pianist Siqian Li: “Being well-behaved in music is not a compliment.”

Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony – music for war and resistance

This week it was off to the Philharmonie de Paris, a state-of-the-art concert hall in the north-eastern periphery of the French capital. Paris may be my second home, but this was my first visit to this musical institution designed by the architect Jean Nouvel. Opened in 2015, after a six year wait, there was a lot…

Tracks of my tears: Fretwork with Ian Bostridge & Elizabeth Kenny, ‘John Dowland’s Lachrimaes’, Milton Court, London

2026 marks the 400th anniversary of John Dowland’s death. Although it’s an appropriately melancholy milestone, one can only rejoice if it prompts more beautiful concerts like this one throughout the year. I confess that I’m frequently wary of the idea that the worth of music, art or literature from the past rests on its ‘relevance’…

Queasy listening: ‘Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny’, English National Opera, London

The city of Mahagonny rose and fell three times in the space of a week in ENO’s recent ‘blink-and-you’ll-miss-it’ production. Fortunately, enough people did notice and the entire run sold out – so I am glad to have made it to the closing night. This uncompromising, scathing satire from Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht tells…

Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte in Coney Island

Cosi Fan Tutte premiered a year before Mozart’s death in 1791. It’s probably one of our most popular operas today, largely due, but not exclusively, to its exquisitely crafted arias, which Mozart produces one after another for his female singers. I attended opening night of Cosi at English National Opera with mixed feelings however. I…

Horton takes advice from the old Master and gets a standing ovation for his Chopin Scherzos

Tim Horton’s six-concert Chopin Cycle started back in 2024 and sadly the series is nearly at its end. I was thrilled to be able to catch Horton’s penultimate concert at the Wigmore on January 16th this year, where Ravel’s revolutionary waltzes were judiciously sandwiched between several late Chopin nocturnes and four Scherzos. Throughout his Chopin…

Retrospecstive 2025: Adrian Ainsworth’s albums of the year

Putting this list together seems to take me a little longer each January, but I firmly believe that – my ‘winning’ approach to organisation aside – it’s simply because I’m privileged to discover so much more great music every year. Without any further delay, then, here are the (20)25 releases I’m keen to bring to…

‘Opus 109’ – Vikingur Olafsson

Olfasson brings a fresh perspective to well-known repertoire through thoughtful programming, finding intriguing connections and shining a new light on the familiar

Exploring Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie: A Musical Journey

Of all the musical jewels Olivier Messiaen left us, his Turangalîla-symphonie is most commonly associated with him. It is not a symphony in any traditional sense but rather a mosaic of ten movements that unfolds over an hour and twenty minutes

Small Treasures – Sarah Beth Briggs, piano

In her latest release, British pianist Sarah Beth Briggs celebrates the notion that “small is beautiful” in a selection of piano miniatures, including two of the greatest sets of miniatures ever written – Robert Schumann’s Waldszenen (Forest Scenes) and Brahms’s 4 Klavierstucke op. 119. These are interspersed with less familiar works by Clara Schumann and…