This post was originally written for the Independent blogs. London’s classical music scene is changing before our eyes. Over the last five to ten years a whole host of ambitious start-ups have emerged across the capital. Ensembles like the Aurora Orchestra and the London Contemporary Orchestra (LCO) are stuffed with talented young players and perform… [Read more…]
February 22, 2012
This post was originally written for Londonist.com. The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) yesterday announced that it will perform the first of three concerts at a stage on Trafalgar Square on Saturday 12 May (at 6.30pm) in what looks like a publicity coup for the Barbican-based orchestra. The free concert, which will be conducted by the LSO’s… [Read more…]
February 15, 2012
This review was originally written for Londonist.com. The simplicity of the raw materials of flamenco – guitar, throaty singing, hand percussion and, of course, dance – makes it the perfect subject for artistic innovation, whether with choreography, theatre or cross-cultural collaboration. And it is that spirit that brings Spain’s finest cultural export to Sadler’s Wells… [Read more…]
February 8, 2012
Two important events for British folk music in two days! Last night — in an intimate loft space in Covent Garden – saw the launch of the Nest Collective, a new group run by Sam Lee that aims to pull together London’s folk music promotions into something like a coherent set of events. Meanwhile, tonight is… [Read more…]
February 6, 2012
The young Israeli pianist David Greilsammer played the 100 Club last week as part of the Limelight classical series at the venue. He was promoting his first CD on Sony Classical, Baroque Conversations, which juxtaposes Rameau, Couperin and JS Bach with music by contemporary composers such as Lachenmann. A thinking pianist, Greilsammer is a passionate… [Read more…]
January 31, 2012
Of the three jazz all-rounders brought together by Kings Place for its eXplorations mini-series, Alex Wilson – composer, pianist and Latin Jazz evangelist – is the most idiosyncratic, and his gig was suitably individual. After opening with the second ever performance of his Concerto for Kora & Piano, the second half was split between Wilson’s… [Read more…]
January 23, 2012
This article was written for Independent blogs. Standing at the bus stop the other day, I bumped into an acquaintance who had been working outside London for the last few years. When I asked how he liked living in Bristol, and then Liverpool, he reeled off a list of positives before saying, “but culturally, there… [Read more…]
January 6, 2012
A version of this article was originally written for Londonist. If the church of St-Martin-in-the-Fields stood in nearly any other London location it would be the focus of its surroundings. But with Nelson’s Column and the National Gallery on its doorstep and the through-route from the West End running along its front steps, it has to… [Read more…]
December 17, 2011
A version of this blog piece was originally written for the Independent. This week on the Today programme, two well known names in classical music – Observer critic Fiona Maddocks and impresario Raymond Gubbay – discussed an article in The Economist that highlighted the resurgence of carol singing at Christmas. Their observations are spot on. Whether it is… [Read more…]
December 8, 2011
A version of this article was originally written for Londonist. Advent is a good time to visit the historic buildings of E1. Two of East London’s finest churches – Hawksmoor’s Christ Church in Spitalfields and Shoreditch Church – host a range of baroque and contemporary music concerts as part of the Spitalfields Music Winter Festival. Unsurprisingly,… [Read more…]
February 23, 2012
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