Features & Interviews
Classical Music/Opera direct to home 4 - Rattle in the ether
Sunday, 29 March 2020
He may no longer be the Berlin Philharmoniker's Chief Conductor, but by a combination of serendipity and foresight on the orchestra's part, Simon Rattle's last concert in Berlin for the foreseeable future was filmed without an audience and led the way for other, smaller-scale ventures before
Sondheim at 90 Songs: 5 - 'Every Day A Little Death'
Friday, 27 March 2020
“Whipped cream with knives” is how Harold Prince, who directed the Broadway premiere of A Little Night Music in 1973, famously described this particular Sondheim show. And nowhere is that borne out with more exquisite agony than in this duet between two unhappily married women.
Sondheim at 90 Songs: 4 - 'America'
Thursday, 26 March 2020
Ever since I heard the quintessential prog rock group The Nice do a psychedelic instrumental version of “America” in 1968, I have loved this song....
Classical music/Opera direct to home: 3 - Two...
Wednesday, 25 March 2020
We're learning fast what works and what doesn't with online arts offerings in a time of coronavirus. A distinguished young pianist I know rightly...
Sondheim at 90 Songs: 3 - 'Johanna' (...
Wednesday, 25 March 2020
Along with many others, my first exposure to Stephen Sondheim’s art was through watching the film of Bernstein’s West Side Story as a child. The...
Notes on a no-show - Nico Muhly
New dance inspired by his music was the first casualty of the darkened Sadler's Wells |
Sondheim at 90 Songs: 2 - 'Epiphany'/'A Little Priest'
Is there a better climax to a musical first act than the terror-plus-wit in 'Sweeney Todd'? |
Sondheim at 90 Songs: 1 - 'I'm Still Here'
We're celebrating the great man's birthday with favourite numbers - mine's from 'Follies' |
Sondheim at 90: adults will listen
The composer-lyricist has left an indelible legacy |
'Pause. Notice. Breathe': Elena Urioste on self-love in a time of coronavirus
The violinist on how her yoga practice has informed her life and playing |
Classical music/Opera direct to home: 2 - Boris Giltburg and Igor Levit
Two top pianists give live recitals in their music rooms at different times of day |
Classical music/Opera direct to home: 1 - Budapest's Quarantine Soirées
First of regular notifications about what you can watch online in the dark days |
First Person: Electra Perivolaris on composing for BBC Radio 3's 'Seven Ages of Woman' project
On setting a Heather Dohollau poem to music for International Women's Day 2020 |
First Person: Hassan Abdulrazzak on the real-life drama behind American deportation to the UK
A provocative fact-based play locates truth in transcripts |
Actress Noémie Merlant: 'This is something that hasn't been told yet'
The star of 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' talks about a film that asserts the female gaze, behind and in front of the camera |
Oscars 2020: a 'Parasite' love-in caps a night of firsts
South Korean triumph dominates a generously-spirited Oscar night |
Young people's guides to the orchestra: the making of 'Not Now, Bernard & Other Stories'
Composer Bernard Hughes on how an idle conversation between friends became a new album of premiere recordings |
theartsdesk in Brussels - jazz, openness and youth at the start of the cultural year
A packed cultural calendar and poignant reminders of affection for the British |
Bridging the cultural divide: Armenian conductor Sergey Smbatyan on marrying east and west
As the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra arrives in London, its artistic director reflects |
'Divinity is all around us': soprano Susanna Hurrell on Ravi Shankar's 'Sukanya'
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Indian master's birth with a return to his opera |
Planting seeds for change: Helen Wallace on a year of seminal events at Kings Place
Women composers to the fore in the innovative arts centre's 'Nature Unwrapped' |
Celebrating the musicals of Jerry Herman (1931-2019)
An immortal lyricist and composer leaves us plenty to be joyful about |
theartsdesk in Zurich and Tallinn: celebrating great Estonians
A Swiss inauguration for Paavo Järvi, a significant birthday for Erkki-Sven Tüür |
theartsdesk Q&A: Conductor Semyon Bychkov in Prague
A tutorial on Smetana's epic of Czechia from the man its leading orchestra calls 'daddy' |
Remembering Mariss Jansons (1943-2019)
The great Latvian conductor has died at the age of 76, but he leaves a powerful legacy |
10 Questions for Techno Musician Carl Craig
Catching up with the prince of Detroit techno as he revives an old alter ego |
Is this Jimi Hendrix’s greatest posthumous release? Producer Eddie Kramer talks about a legendary live album
The complete set of Hendrix's Band of Gypsys performances at the Fillmore East is released this week |
theartsdesk in Warsaw: musical perspectives on culture beyond communism
Troubled history beneath the surface in festival of music from Poland and its neighbours |
'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 |
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