Music and movies for Christmas and beyond: a few recommendations

Posted on by Geoff Andrew

Sitting at home the other evening, contemplating the dismal antics of our wretched government, I found myself taking consolation from the melancholy beauty of Lawrence Power’s viola in his performance of James Macmillan’s marvellous concerto for that instrument. And, generous fellow that I am – not to mention someone who often dithers endless over what … Continue reading Music and movies for Christmas and beyond: a few recommendations

In Search of Marcel’s Music: Isserlis and friends explore Proust’s passions

Posted on by Geoff Andrew

Even under normal circumstances – and the recent far-from-normal circumstances have only slowed me down further – I am not a fast reader; consequently, vast swathes of literature of the lengthy variety remain uncharted by yours truly. (That said, I am still, I think, the only person I personally know who has read Don Quixote … Continue reading In Search of Marcel’s Music: Isserlis and friends explore Proust’s passions

Two or three things I know about Tony Elliott

Posted on by Geoff Andrew

When I heard, from a friend who works for Time Out, that Tony Elliott (1947-2020) had died the previous evening, I wasn’t entirely surprised; though he appeared, on the last occasion I saw him in late January, to be in reasonable health and good spirits, I knew that he’d been engaged in a grim battle … Continue reading Two or three things I know about Tony Elliott

Distance and intimacy: a welcome festival of new music

Posted on by Geoff Andrew

Names like Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007) and Pierre Boulez (1925-2016) often sound alarms in the minds of music-lovers attuned to Mozart or Mendelssohn, Bach, Beethoven or Brahms, or, perhaps still more off-puttingly, in those who favour pop, rock, jazz, soul, hip-hop or all manner of ‘popular’ music. It’s perhaps hardly surprising if most … Continue reading Distance and intimacy: a welcome festival of new music

Musical Marvels: The Wigmore Lockdown Concerts

Posted on by Geoff Andrew

If by any chance you follow me on social media, you may recall that before the coronavirus took hold in the UK, I was an almost absurdly frequent visitor to London’s Wigmore Hall, one of the world’s finest venues for performances of chamber music; for some years I had been going there so often that … Continue reading Musical Marvels: The Wigmore Lockdown Concerts

Viola, Viola (and the Wigmore): new music for troubled times

Posted on by Geoff Andrew

Last week was a pretty good week for me, musically – quite possibly the best I’ve had since the one that ran from Friday 28 February to Thursday 5 March, which was my last week of live concerts. (For the record, and partly to remind myself because it now feels so long ago, I squeezed … Continue reading Viola, Viola (and the Wigmore): new music for troubled times

Michel Piccoli: one of the greatest

Posted on by Geoff Andrew

Because he hadn’t appeared in a film for around half a decade, the death of Michel Piccoli (1925-2020) at the age of 94 came as no surprise; I had actually been wondering about his health only last week while chatting with a friend. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t deeply saddened by the news of his … Continue reading Michel Piccoli: one of the greatest

2020: A Musical Odyssey (That Challenge Thing…)

Posted on by Geoff Andrew

Like many confined to their homes during the coronavirus lockdown, I have been spending more time than usual on social media, and one Facebook post – by my friend and former Time Out colleague Derek Adams – that ended up taking a lot of my time and attention was his challenge that I post the … Continue reading 2020: A Musical Odyssey (That Challenge Thing…)

This Is Their Music: new notes from (or on) some jazz greats

Posted on by Geoff Andrew

Though I don’t keep up with new jazz releases as much as I’d like, there’s a side of me that’s sufficiently completist for me to at least try to monitor anything featuring certain long-time favourites, be they dead or alive. And for anyone who shares my tastes, there’s a wealth of riches newly available, not … Continue reading This Is Their Music: new notes from (or on) some jazz greats

Re-considering Kazan (or how I was wrong about Elia K’s movies)

Posted on by Geoff Andrew

When my colleagues in the programming team at BFI Southbank decided to take up my suggestion that we should mount a retrospective of the films of Elia Kazan – the last one had been way back in the early 1970s – I thought it would be interesting to curate it myself and even, perhaps, to … Continue reading Re-considering Kazan (or how I was wrong about Elia K’s movies)