Journalist, photographer and social commentator.
The Handel festival has taken place on an annual basis in the composer’s birthplace Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, since 1952. This year’s premiere of the original Italian version of the opera Berenice means that all of Georg Friedrich Händel’s 42 operas have […]
In the good ol’ days every Broadway show had weeks of previews out in the sticks. The European Fine Art Fair (Tefaf) only needed two previews to get it right. TEFAF Maastricht, 8-18 March 2018, see also my previous blog. […]
Behind the glass there are some 12,000 orchids, buttercups and various other pink and white flowers that seem to drift in a nine metre wide cloud. Every year the entrance to The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) in Maastricht is […]
Review of exhibition Lake Keitele, a vision of Finland at National Gallery, London. Until 4 February 2018. Have you ever heard of the Finnish artist Axel Gallén? Or does Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1930) ring a bell? I am impressed if you […]
The BBC Symphony Orchestra with its Finnish chief conductor Sakari Oramo at the helm will perform an all-Sibelius programme at the Barbican hall in London on the 6th of December. This is a significant date for a small state that […]
Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond Exhibition at British Museum until 8 April 2018 If there was ever an exhibition worth the price of the entrance fee just for one object, then this is it. The opportunity to […]
“My friend – Welcome to the Carpathians. I am anxiously expecting you. Sleep well tonight. At three tomorrow the diligence will start for Bukovina; a place on it is kept for you. At the Borgo Pass my carriage will await […]
Bucharest is not a place you fall in love with straight away. It might take a few days. Or, as in my case, a return visit. Seventy years ago the monarchy was abolished and instead a Romanian People’s Republic was […]
I am not surprised that so many musicians return to the Verbier Festival year after year. The top soloists probably don’t get paid as much as they normally would get for a concert, but the real carrot is that they […]
Albert Herring, music: Benjamin Britten, libretto:Eric Crozier, seen at The Grange Festival , June 25 2017 Why did Benjamin Britten not write more comedy operas? On the evidence of this Grange Festival production he was clearly seriously good at being […]
TEFAF, 10-19 March, 2017, Maastricht Art fairs are essential for the dealers. This is where nowadays most of the networking with clients, colleagues and museum curators is done. It is also the best place for the art tourist with a […]
TEFAF in Maastricht, 9-19 March The Maastricht Treaty is already a fading (bad) memory for most British people that voted for Brexit. But the city of Maastricht deserves to be associated with some positive things as well. André Rieu, the […]