Tom Hicks, piano Complete Chopin Nocturnes (Divine Art Records) It’s rare to come across a recording, or indeed a live concert, where one thinks “yes, that is how it should be played!”, but this was my reaction on listening to Tom Hicks’ new recording of Chopin’s Nocturnes. I cannot fault this performance; it is wonderful…
Tag: Classical music
Latin translations: Julieth Lozano Rolong & João Araújo, ‘Alma: Ibero-American Songs’
This is a thrilling hour in the company of two artists who perform as if this music is flowing through their veins as well as their heritage. ‘Alma’ shines a spotlight on 20th-century repertoire mostly from Latin America, alongside a smaller selection from Spain and Portugal. Although, as the liner notes tell us, some of…
Graphic content: François Berthoud’s posters for Opernhaus Zürich
A real ‘picture post’ from me here. Our recent visit to Opernhaus Zürich coincided with an exhibition of the memorable posters designed for the company by illustrator François Berthoud over the last 13 years. Each poster features an image of a single item linked to the work in question – on some the connection is…
Darkness divisible: ‘L’Orfeo’ and ‘Elias’, Opernhaus Zürich
Our recent Swiss holiday closed with a lightning visit to Opernhaus Zürich, to catch two performances in one day: a matinée of Monteverdi’s ‘L’Orfeo’, followed by a staged version of Mendelssohn’s ‘Elias’ (or ‘Elijah’). Both were rewarding experiences. I had never seen a production of ‘L’Orfeo’ before (a rather important omission, now happily rectified) and…
Unveiling Hidden Treasures: Thomas Pitfield’s Piano Music
Thomas Pitfield Piano Music Duncan Honeybourne, piano Pianist Duncan Honeybourne, indefatigable champion of lesser-known and rarely-performed British piano music, brings another gem to wider attention with his recent recording of music by Thomas Pitfield (Heritage Records, March 2025). Born in Bolton, Lancashire, in 1901, Thomas Pitfield was a polymath: a poet, artist, engraver, calligrapher, master…
‘Merry Widow’ on target despite mafioso misfire
When Franz Lehar’s Merry Widow premiered in Vienna in 1905 it was an instant hit. Its catchy score had men whistling it in the street. Women of all ages and class, swayed to the Merry Widow Waltz imagining themselves in the arms of the Merry Widow’s dashing romantic lead, Danilo. Audiences also loved the central character,…
Opera Holland Park enters new waters with Wagner’s ‘Flying Dutchman’
This season Opera Holland Park has had a first stab at Wagner with The Flying Dutchman, this work being a doable two and a half hours as opposed to the usual four. The legend of a Dutch sea-captain, condemned to sail the ocean forever, until he finds the love of a good, faithful, woman, was…
Betrand Chamayou’s ‘Fragments’ – a tribute to Ravel
It’s almost ten years since French pianist Bertrand Chamayou recorded Ravel’s complete piano works, and now, in this the 150th anniversary year of Ravel’s birth, he has released an album which he calls “a modest contribution” to the “anniversary celebrations of a composer who has been my tireless companion since childhood”. ‘Fragments’ is a portrait…
Communicating Without Words, a Family Speciality
Great performances of chamber trios and quartets often rely on the special relationships of players who communicate without words. But brothers and sisters have a natural advantage, having learned music from childhood together. Body language, discreet nods and the composer’s own “dialogue” work best among groups of siblings. The Pascal Trio (father and two sons)…
Roman Rabinovich plays Goldberg Variations in a live stream at Wigmore Hall
The Goldberg Variations has done more to widen the circle of appreciation for classical music than perhaps any other musical work. It certainly gets the youth vote, and one can see why. Regarded as the holy grail for professional pianists, it’s been interpreted by many young, world-class, artists, often male, but not exclusively so –…
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