classical
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Supporters rush to defend ‘beacon of social justice’ as study shows project fails to reach disadvantaged youth
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The percussionist Colin Currie, whose Metal Wood Skin festival continues in London, explains how music became a lifelong love and inspiration
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Review St Petersburg Phil/Temirkanov review – it’s hard to imagine Shostakovich’s 10th performed better
4 / 5 starsVengerov’s Tchaikovsky was scrupulous rather than dramatic, but it was a privilege to hear this orchestra play Shostakovich, writes Tim Ashley -
The War Requiem challenges us to think about what it is we ask people to do when we send them to war, writes conductor Marin Alsop
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Morale-boosting songs, stirring marches and elegies for the fallen were chosen last week by the Observer’s classical music critic Fiona Maddocks. Here you suggest your 10 best…
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Much of the evening fell in that dodgy hinterland where classical musicians try for louche Americana but fail to pull it off, writes Kate Molleson
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Pieces by Mantovani, Schoenberg and Dallapiccola were unsweetened by anything resembling a comfort zone in a bracing, exhilarating evening, writes Erica Jeal
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A gig commemorating the life of Martland showed how his work was about subtle persuasion as much as confrontation, writes Andrew Clements
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Far 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, says Geoff Baker
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Infectiously incisive brilliance, tonal balance and expressiveness featured strongly in this Beethoven and Mozart recital, writes Martin Kettle
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The long-established duo’s Beethoven sonatas felt alive and risky, beginning with a thrilling opening to the Kreutzer, writes Erica Jeal
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Opera company’s first project outside London in 15 years is pulled
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Low pay for freelance actors and dancers urgently needs addressing, says Equity performers’ union
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Spirited and sometimes mesmeric, the tireless US composer’s retrospective has an emphatically contemporary feel, writes Rian Evans
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Conductor Mark Wigglesworth furthered his credentials as a Wagnerian with his excellently mystic interpretation of Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, writes Rian Evans
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Organist, teacher and director of music at King’s College London who ran one of the best choirs in Britain
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At the start of their first tour with instrumentalists in tow, Harry Christophers’ outfit made Monteverdi’s great choral monument come alive, writes Andrew Clements
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Celebrating a quarter-century of sprucing up the 19th-century repertoire, John Eliot Gardiner’s Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique showed their mettle with Beethoven and Berlioz, writes Martin Kettle
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Martin Kušej’s new Idomeneo caused a storm at Covent Garden, but something about it worked for Fiona Maddocks
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Much of the evening fell in that dodgy hinterland where classical musicians try for louche Americana but fail to pull it off, writes Kate Molleson
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Pieces by Mantovani, Schoenberg and Dallapiccola were unsweetened by anything resembling a comfort zone in a bracing, exhilarating evening, writes Erica Jeal
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Classical music A Tribute to Steve Martland review – both exhilarating and slightly scary
4 / 5 starsA gig commemorating the life of Martland showed how his work was about subtle persuasion as much as confrontation, writes Andrew Clements -
Infectiously incisive brilliance, tonal balance and expressiveness featured strongly in this Beethoven and Mozart recital, writes Martin Kettle
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Classical music Renaud Capuçon/Frank Braley review – still startlingly stormy after 16 years
5 / 5 starsThe long-established duo’s Beethoven sonatas felt alive and risky, beginning with a thrilling opening to the Kreutzer, writes Erica Jeal -
Spirited and sometimes mesmeric, the tireless US composer’s retrospective has an emphatically contemporary feel, writes Rian Evans
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Conductor Mark Wigglesworth furthered his credentials as a Wagnerian with his excellently mystic interpretation of Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, writes Rian Evans
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At the start of their first tour with instrumentalists in tow, Harry Christophers’ outfit made Monteverdi’s great choral monument come alive, writes Andrew Clements
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Celebrating a quarter-century of sprucing up the 19th-century repertoire, John Eliot Gardiner’s Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique showed their mettle with Beethoven and Berlioz, writes Martin Kettle
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Martin Kušej’s new Idomeneo caused a storm at Covent Garden, but something about it worked for Fiona Maddocks
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Mark Elder masterminds a profound performance marking the centenary of the first world war, writes Alfred Hickling
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Osmo Vänskä proved his mastery of the Finnish composer through early works including the Lemminkäinen Suite, writes Andrew Clements
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Classical music The Left-Hander review – finely played and sung, but it’s no masterpiece
2 / 5 starsA late start left the audience fractious, and striking orchestral and vocal effects were offset by a thinness of melodic and thematic inspiration , writes Tim Ashley -
The OAE and a cast in impressive voice conveyed the drama of the Roman arena in a concert outing of Donizetti’s forgotten grand opera, writes Erica Jeal
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Opera The Cunning Peasant review – Dvořák’s ‘flimsy’ opera transplanted to Hardy’s Wessex
3 / 5 starsStephen Medcalf’s Far from the Madding Crowd take on Dvořák’s folk comedy doesn’t always work, but fine conducting and singing save the day, writes Tim Ashley -
The modern police state backdrop sits oddly in Martin Kušej’s new production, provoking mostly puzzlement. And what is the shark about? asks Andrew Clements
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Sally Beamish’s Equal Voices, on the effects of war, had its first outing, while Nelson Freire delivered a startling Emperor Concerto, writes Andrew Clements
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Without staging, it wasn’t easy keeping track of the lovers in Prokofiev’s comic opera, but Gergiev’s cast and orchestra filled in at least some of the gaps, writes Rian Evans
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The clarinettist Jörg Widmann and his trio perfectly caught Robert Schumann’s aching expressivity and irrepressible poignancy in an ingenious programme, writes Guy Dammann
album reviews
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The Hallé and top soloists give an assured performance of Colin Matthews’s first world war song cycle, writes Fiona Maddocks
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These poignant pieces by Duruflé, Vaughan Williams, Tavener and others are beautifully executed by the Choir of Westminster Abbey, writes Stephen Pritchard
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JS Bach JS Bach: Köthener Trauermusik BWV 244a CD review – lost funeral work springs back to life
3 / 5 starsRaphaël Pichon reconstructs a lost mourning cantata by Bach with fascinating results, writes Nicholas Kenyon
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This great American musical gets exemplary treatment by the New York Philharmonic, but the semi-staging frustrates
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Classical music Janáček: Glagolitic Mass; Eternal Gospel CD review – raw and confrontational
3 / 5 starsThe performance is a nicely detailed one, with adequate rather than outanding soloists, writes Andrew Clements -
Classical music Vaughan Williams: A Pastoral Symphony; Tallis Fantasia, etc CD review – a glorious account
4 / 5 starsThe troubled, sullied world that the music explores is recreated by Elder and the Hallé without ever becoming overwrought, writes Andrew Clements -
Giulano Carmignola’s performance sounds lively and involving at first, but the effect eventually loses its potency, writes Andrew Clements
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Classical music Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words; Variations Sérieuses, etc CD review – a constant delight
4 / 5 starsJavier Perianes’ range of colour is perfectly judged, writes Andrew Clements -
Benjamin Britten Journey to Aldeburgh: Young Britten CD review – exuberant and well worth exploring
4 / 5 starsBritten’s belated memorial to his teacher is the real discovery in this collection of unfamiliar material, writes Andrew Clements -
Classical music Katia & Marielle Labèque: Sisters CD review – energy, wit and childhood memories
3 / 5 starsThe Labèques roll back the years in a disc of popular piano duets, writes Fiona Maddocks -
The Irish composer’s lyrical work is a valuable addition to the chamber repertoire, writes Stephen Pritchard
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Classical music Plummer, Cornysh, Lambe, anon: Transeamus CD review – a sweet farewell from the Hilliard Ensemble
4 / 5 starsThe male voice quartet’s final recording is typical of their unique and sophisticated work, writes Nicholas Kenyon -
Classical music Muhly: Two Boys CD review – inventive but impossibly arch opera from NY Met
2 / 5 starsNico Muhly’s choral writing is striking and inventive, but Craig Lucas’s lyrics remain deeply problematic, writes Andrew Clements -
Classical music Debussy: Sonata; Takemitsu: And Then I Knew ’Twas Wind; Gubaidulina: Garten von Freuden und Traurigkeiten CD review
4 / 5 starsDebussy’s late Sonata is one of his masterpieces, and is pleasingly paired here with two modern works it inspired, writes Andrew Clements -
Classical music Rachmaninov Complete Piano Works Vol 1: Artur Pizarro CD review – passionate but unrefined
4 / 5 starsFor Artur Pizarro, recording Rachmaninov is clearly a labour of love, and there’s certainly no lack of passion here, writes Andrew Clements -
Cantica Symphonia’s recordings of two Dufay masses have plenty of grandeur and sense of occasion, writes Andrew Clements
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Classical music Finzi: Requiem da Camera, Vaughan Williams: An Oxford Elegy, etc CD review – hymns to the fallen
4 / 5 starsGerald Finzi’s previously unrecorded Requiem da Camera is the highlight of this collection of first world war-themed compositions, writes Andrew Clements -
An intimate recording from the Academy of Ancient Music brings out the detail in Bach’s rhythms, writes Stephen Pritchard
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Stuart Skelton is up there with Philip Langridge in this exemplary recording, writes Fiona Maddocks
talking points
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Far 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, says Geoff Baker
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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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The 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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In 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 mistake
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A 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
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New musical work celebrates Nat Nakasa, a journalist who was exiled from South Africa and whose life ended suddenly in Harlem
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The director of the controversial opera, which opened on Monday to protests at the Met in New York, will be online at 1pm ET on Friday. Please post your questions now
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Climbing over the top of a lavish superfluity of song nominations from last week’s topic, RR regular bluepeter picks his favourite examples of overkill
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At last night’s Wigmore Hall concert, quartet-lab created a framework within which anything was possible, permissible, and comprehensible.
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We 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
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Haydn wrote 15 operas. Thanks to English Touring Opera, there’s a rare opportunity to see one of them this autumn.
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In music, performance or lyrics, it’s time to cross the line and truly define what is flamboyant, superfluous and OTT, says Peter Kimpton -
From a confident Otis Redding to a straightforward AC/DC, RR regular Suzi swoons at this shortlist of songs to get you in the mood
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Sometimes this column just features odd music. Sometimes – and this is one of those occasions – the music is also quite brilliant
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Tom Watson’s suggestion that Radio 3 should give up its FM slot to 6 Music is baffling, writes Tom Service - a fan of both stations
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There’s only four weeks to save Northern Ireland’s only full-time professional orchestra
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Well, not literally. Donate them to schools and help the Don’t Stop the Music campaign
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Dances of deception to sensual strategies, suggest your songs from the viewpoint of pursuer or pursued in this week’s sexy topic, says Peter Kimpton
you may have missed
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Tom Service introduces 50 composers from the contemporary classical music scene
ENO's decision to abandon Bristol smacks of the same old London bias