SAMSON AT HÄNDEL FESTSPIELE HALLE
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 […]
BERENICE FINALLY CONQUERS HÄNDEL FESTSPIELE
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 […]
Scandinavian paintings at Tefaf
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. […]
THE BUCKET LIST ANTIQUE FAIR
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 […]
CHARLES I HAD A HEAD FOR ART
Did Charles I’s marvelous art collection play a part in his downfall and consequent execution? No other royal, apart from possibly George IV, devoted as much money and time to acquiring works of art. He may have lacked political nous […]
GALLÉN’S LAKE KEITELE AT THE THE NATIONAL GALLERY
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 […]
IT IS ENTIRELY INEFFABLE
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 […]
YOUNG MUSICIANS SCALE THE HEIGHTS AT VERBIER FESTIVAL
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 […]
The hills are alive with the sound of Kissin
Verbier Festival visited 25-28 July, 2017 Verbier in the south-western Swiss Alps offers pretty awesome views. The village, which during the high season turns into a town, lies at about 1500 metres. But if it is truly spectacular panoramas you’re […]
Searing Kát’a Kabanová in Holland Park
Seen July 21, 2017 in Holland Park, London Leoš Janáček’s obsession with a woman almost 40 years his junior can seem very unattractive on paper. But Kamila Stösslová didn’t seem to care much one way or another. And Janáček’s (unrequited?) […]
ALISA WEILERSTEIN CHAMPIONS THE NEW
Interview with Alisa Weilerstein at the Royal Albert Hall, London, July 2017 The American cellist Alisa Weilerstein could probably tour the world playing the cello concertos of Elgar, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich ad infinitum. You can still build a career […]
MOVING JENUFA at WEST HORSLEY PLACE
Jenůfa by Leoš Janáček, seen July 2017 Grange Park Opera, Theatre in the Woods at West Horsley Place. Janáček’s associated his opera Jenůfa with both the death of his young son Vladimir and the slow and tortuous illness that took […]