classical
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Tristan und Isolde - productions through the agesWagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde changed musical and cultural history, exploring the nature of love, sex, life and death. -
Wagner's Tristan und Isolde - nothing was the same againBernstein called it ‘the central work of all music history’. Wagner’s radical music-drama was deemed unperformable when first written, but time has proved the Vienna Court Opera very wrong. -
Karajan: a new film – and the controversy continuesThe conductor – who led the Berlin Phil from 1956 to 1989 – is the subject of a new BBC documentary. But he remains an enigmatic figure, whose musical approach sounds a false note in today’s world
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Love stories
Tim Ashley's opera guide Love stories
In the first of a six-part series, Tim Ashley goes in search of the best opera productions available to watch complete on YouTube. -
Feldman: Two Pianos and Other PiecesThis entrancing collection shows Feldman testing notation to destruction, says Andrew Clements
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Musical riots
10 of the best Musical riots
Classical music has always had the power to touch the rawest of nerves of taste, feeling, politics, and identity. Here’s our pick of the 10 most infamous musical riots. -
Wolfgang Rihm wins the Grawemeyer$100,000 composing award honours the prolific 62-year-old musician
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The rubber piano playing a different grooveRoland Lamb’s touch sensitive instrument allows the musician to manipulate pitch, timbre and volume through the fingertips
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Arthur Butterworth obituaryComposer, conductor and trumpeter with a passion for all things northern
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CBSO/MacMillan review – St Luke Passion’s freshness sometimes sagsThe UK premiere of James MacMillan’s passion showed the work’s touching directness, but an ultimate lack of awe, writes Rian Evans
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BBCSSO/Pintscher review – ardour at arm’s lengthA cerebral and guarded Matthias Pintscher left out the sensuality and romance in this all-French programme, writes Kate Molleson
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Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Opus 31 and 49 cd review – Pollini is fearsomely implacable
Review Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Opus 31 and 49 cd review – Pollini is fearsomely implacable
3 / 5 starsPollini’s treatment of the work is less fearsome than it might have been, with moments of delicacy and wit, says Andrew Clements -
Piazzolla: Four Seasons of Buenos Aires CD review – three generations of Argentinian composers
Review Piazzolla: Four Seasons of Buenos Aires CD review – three generations of Argentinian composers
3 / 5 starsThe Sinfonietta have mastered the slides and snaps that bring flavour to the music, but lack that crucial quality, says Andrew Clement -
LCO/Ashkenazy review – conductor and players in compelling rapportEvery rhythmic detail from Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony was teased out, and cellist Alexey Stadler gave an expressive reading of Elgar, writes Martin Kettle
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Rameau: Les Indes Galantes CD review – rhythmic verveSolo roles are efficiently, if not outstandingly sung, but Hugo Reyne and the chorus relish the score, says Andrew Clements
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Villa-Lobos: Symphony No 10 ‘Amerindia’ CD review – sheer exuberanceOne of Villa-Lobos’s less convincing symphonies is lifted by the orchestra’s charm, says Andrew Clements
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LPO/Jurowski/Levit review – ravishing ScriabinJurowski puts Rachmaninov’s problematic symphony in context, while soloist Igor Levit is sensational in Scriabin, writes Tim Ashley
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From the archive, 3 December 1919: Elgar’s new cello concerto deserves respectOriginally published in the Manchester Guardian on 3 December 1919: Edward Elgar is one of this country’s finest composers but a string of inadequate performances and his popularity among ‘the wrong sort’ do him no favours
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Oliver Bannister obituaryLongtime principal flute with the Hallé admired for his brilliant technique and outstanding musicianship
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Queyras/Melnikov review – playing of extraordinary refinementContrasting styles and a vast emotional range rendered the duo’s performance of Beethoven’s cello sonatas poised and intense, writes Tim Ashley
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CBSO/MacMillan review – St Luke Passion’s freshness sometimes sagsThe UK premiere of James MacMillan’s passion showed the work’s touching directness, but an ultimate lack of awe, writes Rian Evans
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BBCSSO/Pintscher review – ardour at arm’s lengthA cerebral and guarded Matthias Pintscher left out the sensuality and romance in this all-French programme, writes Kate Molleson
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LCO/Ashkenazy review – conductor and players in compelling rapportEvery rhythmic detail from Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony was teased out, and cellist Alexey Stadler gave an expressive reading of Elgar, writes Martin Kettle
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LPO/Jurowski/Levit review – ravishing ScriabinJurowski puts Rachmaninov’s problematic symphony in context, while soloist Igor Levit is sensational in Scriabin, writes Tim Ashley
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Queyras/Melnikov review – playing of extraordinary refinementContrasting styles and a vast emotional range rendered the duo’s performance of Beethoven’s cello sonatas poised and intense, writes Tim Ashley
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John Grant with the Royal Northern Sinfonia review – positively spine-tinglingThe Reykjavik musician has put the bad old days behind him for a witty, orchestra-backed set, writes Malcolm Jack
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BBCSO/Minkowski review – Minkowski makes a strong case for Rott’s lost symphonyRott’s debts to his close friend Mahler were all too apparent but there were moments of great beauty and tremendous energy, writes Tim Ashley
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Arditti Quartet review – cosmopolitan programme celebrates group’s 40thManoury’s early string quartet outstayed its welcome, but Mason’s Second revealed charm and technical brilliance, writes Andrew Clements
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BBCSSO/Schick review – flamboyant and spontaneous new soundsThe past haunted the present at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music festival in two substantial works by James Dillon, writes Andrew Clements
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The Gospel According to the Other Mary review – a mesmerising aural worldThe Other Mary has its longueurs, but John Adams’s remarkable score is brilliantly performed at the Coliseum, writes Fiona Maddocks
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CBSO/Nelsons/Hough review – as thoughtful and distinctive as everNelson’s Bruckner was athletic, direct and texturally interesting, while Hough played Schumann’s Piano Concerto with his usual cool brilliance, writes Andrew Clements
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Pelléas et Mélisande review – one of Salonen’s finest achievementsAn unparalleled cast and exquisite soundscapes made this production completely spellbinding, writes Tim Ashley
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Widerstehen review – chamber piece seeks salvation for a harrowing historyChristopher Fox’s aunt was executed by the Nazi government – in this fine, Bach-infused work, he recreates her final hours, writes Alfred Hickling
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Radu Lupu review – radiant, inward and bewitchingRadu Lupu, a rare fixture on the UK concert trail, again proved himself one of the great pianists of our time, writes Andrew Clements
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RSNO/Peter Oundjian review – a flat Firebird, but a sunny RomeThe pianist Steven Osborne was the star of this evening, with his subtle, insightful and jazzy account of Ravel’s G major concerto, writes Kate Molleson
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Oberon review – fascinating and important revivalThis fine semi-staging of Weber’s ‘problem’ opera, a sequel to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, revealed its magic, messy beauty, writes Tim Ashley
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OAE/Tognetti review – joyfully going with the flowA partnership with guest director Richard Tognetti brings zest and brilliance to the OAE, writes Rian Evans
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Dillon’s Stabat Mater review – beautiful, distant and compellingThe world premiere of James Dillon’s Stabat Mater Dolorosa was a Huddersfield festival highlight with its powerfully individual music, writes Andrew Clements
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Lohengrin/Christian Wolff review – terrifying Sciarrino and strange CagePetr Kotik conducted a long-lost reworking by John Cage and nyMusikk Bergen performed a retelling of the grail legend with almost indecently intimate music, writes Alfred Hickling
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Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Opus 31 and 49 cd review – Pollini is fearsomely implacablePollini’s treatment of the work is less fearsome than it might have been, with moments of delicacy and wit, says Andrew Clements
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Piazzolla: Four Seasons of Buenos Aires CD review – three generations of Argentinian composers
Piazzolla: Four Seasons of Buenos Aires CD review – three generations of Argentinian composers
3 / 5 starsThe Sinfonietta have mastered the slides and snaps that bring flavour to the music, but lack that crucial quality, says Andrew Clement -
Rameau: Les Indes Galantes CD review – rhythmic verveSolo roles are efficiently, if not outstandingly sung, but Hugo Reyne and the chorus relish the score, says Andrew Clements
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Villa-Lobos: Symphony No 10 ‘Amerindia’ CD review – sheer exuberanceOne of Villa-Lobos’s less convincing symphonies is lifted by the orchestra’s charm, says Andrew Clements
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Bach: Mass in B minor CD review – a thoughtful, uplifting accountArcangelo and Jonathan Cohen surprise and delight, writes Fiona Maddocks
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Byrd: Infelix ego, Mass for 5 Voices, Motets CD review – intimate, expressive, hypnoticPhilippe Herreweghe and co deliver a fittingly small-scale account of Byrd’s wonderful five-part mass, writes Nicholas Kenyon
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Brahms: Complete waltzes for four hands CD review – sparkle and swingHusband-and-wife duo Fiammetta Tarli and Ivo Varbanov clearly love this four-handed repertoire, writes Stephen Pritchard
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Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier Books 1 and 2 CD review – assertive and muscularPlayed on a replica of an 18th-century harpsichord, with a big sound but not much range, this treatment of the preludes is interesting but gruff, writes Andrew Clements
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Dukas: L’Apprenti Sorcier; La Péri; Symphony in C CD review – vividly characterisedJean-Luc Tingaud and the RTE Symphony reveal the impressionistic, colouristic character of one of the neglected masterpieces of the early 20th century, writes Andrew Clements
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Monteverdi: Madrigals Vol 2: Mantova CD review – immaculate and refinedHighly accomplished extracts from the fourth, fifth and sixth books of Monteverdi’s madrigals
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Falla: Nights in the Gardens of Spain etc CD review – tepid and undercharacterisedDespite the sleeve notes’ claim to the contrary, Luis Fernando Pérez does not belong in the same company as Alicia de Larrocha as a Falla interpreter, writes Andrew Clements
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Adams: Chamber Symphony; Copland: Appalachian Spring etc CD review – immensely suggestive
Adams: Chamber Symphony; Copland: Appalachian Spring etc CD review – immensely suggestive
4 / 5 starsThis musical tour of 20th-century American classics is carefully thought out and performed with subtlety and panache, writes Andrew Clements -
Mozart, Haydn: Jeunehomme review – Alexandre Tharaud on exhilarating formThe French pianist takes Mozart’s “Jeunehomme” concerto and runs with it, writes Fiona Maddocks
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Winds & Piano review – Les Vents Français on top formLes Vents Français have fun with a flurry of pieces for woodwind and piano, writes Nicholas Kenyon
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Wolff: Pianist: Pieces CD review – a fascinating collectionThomas is the perfect guide for this beautiful body of work, writes Andrew Clements
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Pierné and Fauré: Piano Trios CD review – a vivid response to Pierné’s workIt’s a CD of two parts: Pierné’s diffuse trio and Fauré’s less routine invention, writes Andrew Clements
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Rihm: Seven Passion Texts; Nono: ¿Donde estas, hermano? etc CD review – every note matters
Rihm: Seven Passion Texts; Nono: ¿Donde estas, hermano? etc CD review – every note matters
4 / 5 starsExaudi offers an exquisite interpretation of the German composer’s serene sequence of choral pieces, writes Andrew Clements -
Bach: English Suites, 1, 3 and 5 CD review – conveys the special qualities of Anderszewski’s Bach
Bach: English Suites, 1, 3 and 5 CD review – conveys the special qualities of Anderszewski’s Bach
4 / 5 starsThe Polish-Hungarian pianist has a real sense of intellectual curiosity and purity, writes Andrew Clements -
Mozart: Così fan Tutte review – Currentzis’s take is wilful but freshThe playing is wonderfully alive, and it’s well worth hearing –even if you won’t want to hear it that often, writes Andrew Clements
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Wagner's Tristan und Isolde: nothing in music history was the same again
Tom Service on classical music Wagner's Tristan und Isolde: nothing in music history was the same again
Bernstein called it ‘the central work of all music history’. Wagner’s radical music-drama was deemed unperformable when first written, but time has proved the Vienna Court Opera very wrong. Tom Service selects a few of the highlights available to watch, or listen to, on YouTube. -
Is El Sistema a model of tyranny?
Is El Sistema a model of tyranny?
Geoff BakerFar from the shining example of how classical music can change vulnerable young lives many claim it to be, Venezuala’s El Sistema fails the country’s most deprived children -
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ENO's decision to abandon Bristol smacks of the same old London biasUnderstandable as English National Opera’s need is to cut costs, to cancel their first project outside London in 15 years is the wrong way to save money
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From Mahler to Radiohead, variety is the spice of my lifeViolinist Thomas Gould is one of a new generation of classical musicians who refuses to be defined by a single genre. He explains why a diverse career enriches his and the audience’s experience
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The United States is coming close to censorship
The United States is coming close to censorship
Peter SellarsHe’s notorious for directing the controversial opera Klinghoffer, but Peter Sellars has no regrets about the outrage it provoked. Will The Gospel According to the Other Mary, his modern Passion inspired by censorship, poverty and slave labour, cause a new storm?
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BBC Radio 3 chief: I won’t be ‘dumbing down’ stationAlan Davey says station will not become more like Classic FM to address shrinking audience and will still offer ‘complex culture’
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Wolfgang Rihm wins the Grawemeyer$100,000 composing award honours the prolific 62-year-old musician
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10 of the best: Musical riotsIn the 19th, 20th and even the 21st centuries, classical music has had the power to touch the rawest of nerves of taste, feeling, politics, and identity. Here’s our pick of the 10 most infamous musical riots.
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Ralph Myers: let's keep the dreamers in charge of the artsThe creeping replacement of artistic leaders with managers doesn’t just threaten arts organisations but national cultural life, says Belvoir’s artistic director
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In defence of the violaThe viola was the instrument of choice for Mozart, Haydn, Bach, Dvorák and Beethoven; Jimi Hendrix and John Cale both played it; it’s what violinists turn to to improve technique, so why is the viola the butt of jokes? Tabea Zimmermann defends her instrument
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Britten's legacy lives on with 10 brand new commissionsAldeburgh Music has commissioned 10 new songs for communal singing; you can listen to schoolchildren across Europe perform them live tomorrow
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Watch the LCO and Jonny Greenwood - it's a big deal because it's no big deal!Check out the Boiler Room’s stream of a live collaboration between Jonny Greenwood and the London Contemporary Orchestra. Groundbreaking and bold? Maybe; great music, yes, definitely.
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67P and the sounds of the universeTom Service: Listen to the strange music of the spheres with recordings gathered by spacecraft
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Bayreuth pulls the plug on controversial directorPerformance artist Jonathan Meese, notorious for performing the Nazi salute on stage, will no longer direct Wagner’s Parsifal for the 2016 festival
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10 of the best: where jazz meets classicalFusion all too often means a hybrid that takes the bite out of both genres. Tom Service picks his 10 favourite moments when jazz met classical and the result was inspired rather than insipid
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So what does artistic creation sound like?Alison Watt: The rippling of wooden bobbins, the sound of 2,000 lengths of wool being stretched taut… these make a fine accompaniment when an artist’s design is woven into being
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Opera in 2014: a year of tectonic shiftsThe ground is shifting in the opera world – across Australia as elswhere – but the national review and a touch of showbiz are re-booting the sector beyond Melbourne and Sydney, says Lindy Hume
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Readers recommend: songs about peaceIn a week full of remembrance of the first world war centenary, nominate music all about what we hope comes after the fighting, says Peter Kimpton
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Peter Bradshaw: Notebook: The Washington Post’s imbroglio with Dejan Lazić is a salutory story for all critics. I won’t make the same kind of mistakeI’ve learned a critical lesson: sugaring the pill makes it taste worse
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Suite scandal: why Bach's wife cannot take credit for his cello masterworkA film detailing an Australian music professor’s theory that Bach’s second wife Anna Magdalena composed one of his most famous works is causing a classical stir. Renowned cellist Steven Isserlis debunks the claim
you may have missed
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Così fan Tutte – Currentzis’s take is wilful but freshThe playing is wonderfully alive, and it’s well worth hearing – even if you won’t want to hear it that often
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Behind the Curtain at Opera NorthTom Arber’s behind-the-scenes photographs of Opera North as the company prepared for a new production of La Traviata.
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Pete Townshend announces symphonic reimagining of QuadropheniaA classical version of the Who’s rock production will be orchestrated by the musician’s partner Rachel Fuller and features Alfie Boe on vocals
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The best festive shows this ChristmasGo to the north pole with Doctor Who, boo Jerry Hall as a wicked queen, watch Dustin Hoffman woo Judi Dench, and finish it all off with sprout ice-cream … the best of the festive fun
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Oliver Bannister obituaryLongtime principal flute with the Hallé admired for his brilliant technique and outstanding musicianship
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10 of the best: Classical music comedies and parodiesWe present an occasional and light-hearted series: a selection of 10 entirely subjectively chosen clips, this week representing our pick of classical music’s best parodies, comedies, and sketches
guides
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Tom Service's survey of the 50 symphonies that changed musical historyTom Service's survey of the 50 symphonies that changed classical music
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A guide to contemporary classical musicTom Service introduces 50 composers from the contemporary classical music scene
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Was Kyung Wha Chung right to upbraid a coughing child disturbing her recital?