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 by Culture Capital
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 6, 2012 by Culture Capital
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 23, 2012 by Culture Capital
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 by Culture Capital
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 by Culture Capital
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 by Culture Capital
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 by Culture Capital
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 by Culture Capital
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 by Culture Capital
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…]
February 23, 2012 by Culture Capital
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