Barbican
Maria Gadu, BarbicanWednesday, 02 July 2014
Admired by Brazilian musical royalty like Milton Nascimento and Caetano Veloso, Maria Gadú, at the age of 27, already has four platinum albums to her credit, not to mention a couple of Latin Grammys. Her music blends the urban chaotic modernity of... Read more... |
San Giovanni Battista/The Cooper, Guildhall Milton Court TheatreSaturday, 14 June 2014
The practical considerations and limitations of choosing a work for a student showcase can lead to some wonderfully original programming. It doesn’t get much more original than a pairing of Thomas Arne’s ballad opera The Cooper with Stradella’s... Read more... |
Faust, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Haitink, BarbicanThursday, 05 June 2014
In the year of his 85th birthday, and his 60th season as a conductor, Bernard Haitink is hardly taking it easy, with concerts with various orchestras around Europe and the US including an appearance at the Proms. In this visit to London with the... Read more... |
Eberle, Prohaska, LSO, Rattle, BarbicanMonday, 02 June 2014
"Finally,” said Sir Simon Rattle, “I get a chance to say thank you. We have had forty years working together without an argument." The Royal Philharmonic Society was awarding an Honorary Membership to Martin Campbell-White, Rattle's agent. Campbell-... Read more... |
BBCSO, Morlot, BarbicanSunday, 25 May 2014
It’s safe to assume that mischievous Monsieur Poulenc would have been delighted by the juxtaposition of his joyous slice of Surrealism with Fauré’s serene masterpiece the Requiem. What his elder compatriot might have had to say is harder to imagine... Read more... |
Choreographics, English National Ballet, Barbican PitFriday, 23 May 2014
“We want to be the most creative and the most loved ballet company in this country,” Tamara Rojo told the audience in the Barbican Pit last night. “We want you to love us.” The director of English National Ballet knows a thing or two about gaining... Read more... |
Chick Corea, BarbicanTuesday, 20 May 2014
Jazz pianist Chick Corea put a bomb under his reverential “rare solo concert” billing at the Barbican last night, with an outrageously showmanlike variety performance that seemed to take in everyone from Keith Jarrett to Gareth Malone. Corea’s two... Read more... |
Gawain, BarbicanSaturday, 17 May 2014
Part of the Birtwistle at 80 series at the Barbican, this not-quite-semi-staged Gawain ended up being held back a little by its shoestring production, where a straight concert performance might have transcended its limitations.The music, however, in... Read more... |
Schwanewilms, Connolly, Crowe, LSO, Elder, BarbicanFriday, 09 May 2014
Mozart usually makes a fine concert bedfellow for his most devoted admirer among later composers, Richard Strauss. With the proviso that the 39th rather than the 38th Symphony would have made a better prologue to excerpts from Der Rosenkavalier last... Read more... |
The Testament of Mary, BarbicanThursday, 08 May 2014
If you’re tempted to see Fiona Shaw’s impressive solo performance as Mary the mother of a son she can’t bring herself to name – and see it you probably should – then bear two things in mind.First, anything you may have heard or read about this being... Read more... |
Robert Cray Band, BarbicanWednesday, 07 May 2014
Robert Cray’s veteran blues band made a compelling case for their unique blend of soul and blues at the Barbican last night. Despite the five Grammys, record sales well into seven figures, and investiture in the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011 at the... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Soprano Anne SchwanewilmsSunday, 04 May 2014
She is now the world’s leading interpreter of Richard Strauss’s Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, the aristocratic thirtysomething once forced into marriage with a far from ideal husband and determined not to let it happen to the sweet girl who... Read more... |
