Features & Interviews
theartsdesk Q&A: Conductor Semyon Bychkov in Prague
Monday, 09 December 2019
It's a very big deal for musical Prague: Czechia's symphonic epic, the six tone poems that make up Smetana's Má vlast (My Homeland), launches every Prague Spring Festival at the Smetana Hall, but in the Czech Philharmonic's opulent home, the Rudolfinum, the work hasn't appeared in any of its seasons for 49 years.
Remembering Mariss Jansons (1943-2019)
Wednesday, 04 December 2019
He was indeed "one of the greats" among conductors, as theartsdesk's Gavin Dixon put it in reviewing Mariss Jansons' January visit to the Barbican, and remains so by virtue of his recordings.
10 Questions for Techno Musician Carl Craig
Saturday, 23 November 2019
In the eight years since theartsdesk last spoke to Carl Craig, a lot has happened. He moved from his native Detroit for a sojourn in Barcelona (...
Is this Jimi Hendrix’s greatest posthumous...
Friday, 22 November 2019
This week, one of the finest gems in the entire Hendrix catalogue finally sees the light of day in its full unedited glory – Songs for Groovy...
theartsdesk in Warsaw: musical perspectives on...
Wednesday, 20 November 2019
The new "eufonie" festival is dedicated to the music of Poland and its neighbouring countries. This is its second year, and the scale of the project...
'Shakespeare is mistakenly considered something for the elite': director Claire McCarthy on 'Ophelia'
Upcoming adaptation shines a new light on Shakespeare's famous tragic maiden |
Book extract: Second-Hand Time by Svetlana Alexievich
Extract III of III - On Romeo and Juliet... Except Their Names Were Margarita and Abulfaz |
Book extract: Second-Hand Time by Svetlana Alexievich
Extract II of III - On a Loneliness That Resembles Happiness |
'The Academy and I': composer and viola-player Sally Beamish on a special relationship
On composing anniversary pieces for an ensemble she knows from the inside |
Book extract: Second-Hand Time by Svetlana Alexievich
Extract I of III - A Man's Story |
Music for Youth's Judith Webster: '91% of the young people we work with are from state schools'
As their big Albert Hall Proms approach, MFY's CEO explains the essentials |
'These were the quartets that made us fall in love with the genre': Dudok Quartet Amsterdam on Haydn
The Dutch players speak as one on recording the Austrian composer's Op 20 |
First Person: Simon Stephens - the contemplation of kindness
A journey to the North, into the playwright's past, provides the genesis for ‘Light Falls’, opening at the Royal Exchange |
First Person: Hannah Khalil on museum as metaphor in her new play for the RSC
The playwright on 'A Museum in Baghdad', and how she discovered the story of Gertrude Bell |
‘We must not allow boorish, opportunistic autocrats to hijack music’: Gabriela Montero on life and art
The Venezuelan pianist and composer on the creative impulse and how she uses it |
The deathless Alicia Alonso, in person
Remembering the woman who was Cuban ballet's legend and monster |
theartsdesk at the Tsinandali Festival: young Caucasians join hands and instruments
World-class chamber players and young orchestras on a Georgian country estate |
Book extract: Insurrecto by Gina Apostol
Extract III of III - She Rides along the Coast toward a Historic |
Book extract: Insurrecto by Gina Apostol
Extract II of III - Days of the Dead |
Book extract: Insurrecto by Gina Apostol
Extract I of III - Translations |
'A laboratory for everything': Jasper Parrott on the future of his classical music agency
As Harrison Parrott celebrates 50 years with concerts on Sunday, its main mover reflects |
Jessye Norman, 1945-2019
The great soprano has died at the age of 74, leaving behind a fabulous legacy |
Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva on the London Piano Festival: 'It's not just playing one concert and going home'
On a meeting of musical friends with a Two-Piano Marathon at its heart |
Simon Halsey on Tippett’s ‘A Child of Our Time’: ‘the biggest lesson was how to feel what he had written’
The CBSO Chorus's director on preparing a masterpiece, and working with the composer |
Al Alvarez: 'If I drop dead this minute, I’ve had a terrific time'
An encounter with the literary daredevil and critic who published Sylvia Plath |
theartsdesk in Hamburg: Reeperbahn Festival 2019 review
Hustle, bustle, Matt Dillon and forehead-slappingly forceful Mancunians in sin city |
'This goes beyond music and drama': tenor Nicky Spence on Martinů's 'The Greek Passion'
On his Christ-playing character in Opera North's new production of a Czech masterpiece |
First Person: Matthew Xia on why his production of 'Amsterdam' feels especially pertinent and vital now
The director sets the scene for his debut production at the helm of Actors Touring Company |
theartsdesk at the Southrepps Music Festival - world-class young musicians return to North Norfolk
Pianist Martin James Bartlett and guitarist Sean Shibe help celebrate a big 10th birthday |
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