Journalist, photographer and social commentator.
Production seen June 23rd 2023 at The Grange, Northington, Hampshire From afar The Grange at Northington in Hampshire resembles a Grecian temple. But the gently rolling lawns, farmed fields, peaceful lake and trees that surround the impressive neoclassical building couldn’t […]
BBC Proms Saturday 14 August 2021 S.Prokofiev Symphony no.1, J.S.Bach Keyboard Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056, W.A. Mozart Piano concerto no.24, D. Shostakovich Symphony no.9
BBC Proms 5 August Ruth Gipps Symphony No.2 in B major, Thomas Adès’ The Exterminating Angel Symphony, Johannes Brahms Symphony No.3 in F major I have been sitting it out for nine months, waiting for proper concerts with a live […]
Prom 60, Royal Albert Hall, 27 August 2018 Does Leonard Bernstein 28 years after his death really need an advocate? In this country we are particularly keen on celebrating or commemorating the births and deaths of composers. In March it […]
The Hallé is one of Britain’s oldest orchestras and it is no surprise that they have championed many compositions at an early stage, before they became true classics. The orchestra’s founder, Charles Hallé, put Wagner’s Tannhäuser overture on the repertoire […]
Sunday 27 may 2018, Handel Festival Halle The late-Gothic Ulrichskirche in Halle (Saale) has been a concert hall since the 1970s and the massive concert organ is now a bit of a feature. It is not old, but if you […]
Händel Festspiele Halle 2018, 26 May, 2018 Georg-Friedrich Händel Halle Correct me if I am wrong, but surely the Kansas-born mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato is our generation’s biggest opera diva. On top of that a prima donna who doesn’t put on […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The biennial Enescu festival is a classical music fest with a difference. In my previous blog I have tried to explain why it is so unique and absurdly grandiose. In that sense it is reminiscent of the Palatul Parlamentului ( […]
The Enescu Festival, 2-24 September, Bucharest, Romania The 23rd edition of the George Enescu festival has just finished. This biennial event held in the Romanian capital Bucharest manages to be both bizarre and totally marvelous. Bizarre because when it comes […]