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…]
November 30, 2011
A version of this article was originally written for Londonist. Another classical music club promotion, with roots far away from anything resembling a concert hall, is making inroads in London. As widely reported, London has a thriving classical ‘club’ scene, from the candle-on-tables atmosphere of the 100 Club to the experimental, dance-influenced Shoreditch-based operation of Gabriel… [Read more…]
November 21, 2011
The Hagen Quartet performs at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Wendesday 23rd November. This article was written for the concert programme. Many legendary chamber ensembles, from the Beaux Arts Trio to the Borodin Quartet, have had long and distinguished careers, but most have to weather the gradual succession of their members over time. The Hagen Quartet, together for 30 years this… [Read more…]
November 5, 2011
The BBC Symphony Orchestra and a massed choir, conducted by David Robertson, performed the finale from Beethoven’s ninth on the lower concourse of St Pancras International this week. The event, put on by the Beeb to promote its new TV series on the history of the symphony, drew a mixed crowd of industry people and… [Read more…]
October 24, 2011
The growing crop of London orchestras and artists taking classical music out of its traditional context feature heavily in the Roundhouse’s five-day Reverb 2012 festival (24th to 26th February and 4th and 5th March 2012). The inaugural Reverb in 2010 was a success, pulling in good numbers and creating a bit of a buzz, some of which… [Read more…]
October 14, 2011
This post was written for Independent blogs. The Rolling Stones started it. They first met blues icon Muddy Waters, the artist from whom they got their name, during the 1964 US tour. The Stones assiduously courted and praised their bluesmen heroes to the point where they gave the old guard a whole new lease of… [Read more…]
January 31, 2012
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