Barbican
Alina Ibragimova, Quay Brothers, Wilton's Music HallWednesday, 27 July 2011
Nine out of 10 attempts to feed an audience's visual responses to abstract music are doomed to failure; a great communicator will always conjure stronger pictures in the listener's mind. And there's no doubt that young violinist Alina Ibragimova... Read more... |
A Night in Tahrir Square, Barbican HallSaturday, 23 July 2011
By the end of the first half an hour, the burly Egyptian journalist next to me was in tears. By the end of the show, the entire Barbican audience was on its feet. It was a memorable evening – even if the august Barbican Hall was nothing like the... Read more... |
Royal New Zealand Ballet, From Here to There, Barbican TheatreThursday, 14 July 2011
All ballet companies dream of finding a genuine creative talent among their ranks, and the Royal New Zealand Ballet, visiting from the farthest end of the world ballet map, have one in Andrew Simmons. The unknown name on their triple bill on this... Read more... |
Rain Dogs Revisited, BarbicanThursday, 14 July 2011
So how did you survive the 1980s? I don’t mean money-wise; I’m sure you had plenty of that. I mean musically and therefore spiritually. It was a diet of Thomas Mapfumo and old Nina Simone albums that got me through the first half, until the Red... Read more... |
Congotronics vs Rockers, BarbicanTuesday, 12 July 2011
Several of my favourite tracks of 2010 were on Tradi-Mods vs Rockers. This was a musically audacious project in which a bunch of Western pop and rock musicians dared to unpick the intricate fabric of some Congolese bands who were already making some... Read more... |
Le Cercle de L'Harmonie, Rhorer, Barbican HallTuesday, 28 June 2011
While we are far from lacking in top early music ensembles in the UK, there’s no denying that the French have a special affinity for this repertoire. While The Academy of Ancient Music and The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment are virtuosic... Read more... |
Lullaby, Barbican PitMonday, 27 June 2011
There are few absolutes left in contemporary theatre. Fourth walls have long since crumbled underfoot; site-specific and immersive theatre experiences have further done away with divides between theatre and world, performer and audience. The one... Read more... |
The Infernal Comedy, Barbican HallSaturday, 18 June 2011
The Barbican committed a grave sin last night. It forgot that people matter more than art. That their responsibility to the families of those who Jack Unterweger (the subject of John Malkovich's music drama, The Infernal Comedy)... Read more... |
theartsdesk's Chairman honoured by Royal AcademyWednesday, 15 June 2011Sir John Tusa, chairman of theartsdesk, former managing director of the BBC World Service and Barbican Centre, has been made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy today. Two non-artists a year are chosen by the Royal Academy of Arts in... Read more... |
Pires, London Symphony Orchestra, Haitink, Barbican HallTuesday, 14 June 2011
It was Groundhog Day. Murray Perahia, due to play the Schumann Piano Concerto last night under Bernard Haitink, was indisposed and at the last minute Maria João Pires rushed in with Mozart 27. Just the same happened in 2006, strangely enough, with... Read more... |
Idomeneo, Barbican HallSunday, 12 June 2011
Mozart's Idomeneo is subjected to a famous bit of abuse in Milos Forman's Amadeus. "A most tiresome piece," a courtier critic sniffs. "Too much spice. Too many notes." As it happens, not a wholly inaccurate statement. The work is quite an exotic... Read more... |
Ariodante, Barbican HallWednesday, 25 May 2011
Handel spread dazzle and desolation evenly enough through the lead roles of Ariodante. A suitably stellar line-up for last night's concert performance at the Barbican was, therefore, awaiting us. Yet, as so often with Handel, the packed ship... Read more... |
