classical music reviews, news & interviews
David Nice |

Would it be possible to get to the end of the year without hearing a single Bruckner symphony live?

Bernard Hughes |

Zum Roten Igel – the “Red Hedgehog Tavern” – was a concert venue with pub attached in 19th century Vienna, frequented by the like of Schubert and Brahms.

graham.rickson
 Leopold Godowsky: Java SuiteTobias Borsboom (piano) (TRPTK)  Image   There’s…
Rachel Halliburton
It was, without doubt, a moment unlike any witnessed in Fabric’s history of just over quarter of a century. Hundreds of us crammed into the superclub…
Boyd Tonkin
For the final concert in their 80th birthday season, the Philharmonia swept us into the great outdoors. Three works imbued with the forces of nature…

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

Robert Beale
Four voices and four strings capture hibernian experience from Lassus to the recent past
Clare Stevens
A splendid if in some ways provisional inauguration
David Nice
True contralto drama alongside coruscating orchestra
David Nice
One great British soprano triumphs as late replacement for another
graham.rickson
Rarely-heard repertoire for two pianos, plus baroque transcriptions and guitar duets
Boyd Tonkin
Drama and drive in Mozart's great unfinished mass
Bernard Hughes
Music by Evelin Seppar highlights interesting intersection with Arvo Pärt’s holy minimalism
David Nice
Superbly sequenced memorials balancing anger and reflection
Robert Beale
A look back to the Covid experience in Dani Howard’s approachable and attractive Trombone Concerto
Robert Beale
A trusted guide and an imaginative soloist charm the crowd
Robert Beale
From 1980 to 2025 with the West Coast’s pied piper and his eager following
David Nice
Perfect ensemble runs the gamut of a supreme masterpiece
Bernard Hughes
A robust and assertive Beethoven concerto suggests a player to follow
Bernard Hughes
Broad and idiosyncratic survey of classical music is insightful but slightly indigestible
graham.rickson
British ballet scores, 19th century cello works and contemporary piano etudes
David Nice
Specialists in French romantic music unveil a treasure trove both live and on disc
Simon Thompson
A pity the SCO didn't pick a better showcase for a shining guest artist
David Nice
British masterpieces for strings plus other-worldly tenor and horn - and a muscular rarity
Rachel Halliburton
From quasi-Mozartian elegance to the gritty humour of a kitchen inspection
Bernard Hughes
Adès’s passion makes persuasive case for the music he loves, both new and old
Sebastian Scotney
The Austrian mezzo shines - at the age of 22
Oliver Pashley
Compositions by members of this unusual quartet feature for the first time
Rachel Halliburton
At times it was like watching an anarchic religious procession
graham.rickson
An influential American composer's 90th birthday box, plus British piano concertos and a father-and-son duo

the future of arts journalism

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing! 

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

latest in today

We are bowled over! We knew that theartsdesk.com had plenty of supporters out there – we’ve always had a loyal readership of arts…
The opening track initially seems straightforward. To begin “Sons of Art,” Michael Garrick runs up and down his piano keyboard. Norma…
Among the many versions of America on parade in the ever-expanding universe of Taylor Sheridan, the one portrayed in Mayor of Kingstown is…
Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident is a shattering absurdist anti-caper – a kind of minimalist take on It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World…
Would it be possible to get to the end of the year without hearing a single Bruckner symphony live? I’d reckoned without the presence in…
Zum Roten Igel – the “Red Hedgehog Tavern” – was a concert venue with pub attached in 19th century Vienna, frequented by the like of…
 Leopold Godowsky: Java SuiteTobias Borsboom (piano) (TRPTK)  Image  …
American R&B singer Eric Benet is the latest star to throw Santa’s hat into the ring and spin a Christmas album out of the seasonal…
Given that the British Red Cross has slammed Britain’s little archipelago of lock-ups for immigrants, and given that the government seems…
Nightmares On Wax’s new album Echo45 Sound System feels like the soundtrack to a twilight walk through memory and possibility. At its core…

Most read

Among the many versions of America on parade in the ever-expanding universe of Taylor Sheridan, the one portrayed in Mayor of Kingstown is…
Would it be possible to get to the end of the year without hearing a single Bruckner symphony live? I’d reckoned without the presence in…
 Leopold Godowsky: Java SuiteTobias Borsboom (piano) (TRPTK)  Image  …
On a rainswept Monday, “Miss American Idol 1956”, as Judy Collins likes to introduce herself these days, drew a near-capacity crowd to the…
Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident is a shattering absurdist anti-caper – a kind of minimalist take on It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World…
Lydia Sandgren’s debut novel, Collected Works, a bestseller in her native Sweden, has now been translated by Agnes Broomé into English, in…
This frothy bio-fantasy about the 18th century composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges and top tunesmith to Marie Antoinette at…
Let’s face it, well over 50 years into Alice Cooper’s career, you probably already know whether his umpteen-billionth album is for you.…
Zum Roten Igel – the “Red Hedgehog Tavern” – was a concert venue with pub attached in 19th century Vienna, frequented by the like of…
That spirit of delight which hovered over Christopher Alden’s stylish/surreal Handel bagatelle when I first saw it in the 2017 revival…