Around three months ago, I wrote about what to me seemed a fairly transformative experience of joining a local choir to sing some music by Brahms. I certainly don’t intend to post a blog after every concert I take part in – this will probably be the last – but in the hope of encouraging … Continue reading Singing Beethoven (or how to have fun)
It's already December again. For some years I've posted recommendations for recent BluRay/DVD releases and CDs that might prove useful for anyone wondering what to buy as gifts for Christmas. Since they seem to have been fairly popular posts, I'm doing so again – and I’ve added a couple of books, too. (Please note that … Continue reading Movies and Music for Christmas… and Beyond
Since 2018, when the Danish String Quartet released their first Prism CD, I have been eagerly awaiting the fifth and final album in the series, and at last it is here. The Quartet’s idea for the string of releases was simple, as announced on the back cover of each of the CDs: ‘Lines of connection … Continue reading Great Beethoven and More: Music through a Danish Prism
There is, of course, no such thing as a greatest piece of music, any more than there might be a greatest movie, novel, painting or whatever. But we all have our favourites – though mine, it must be said, are constantly changing – and as far as classical music goes, one of my most frequent … Continue reading Back to Bach, Beethoven and others: recent classical releases
The last 18 months or so have been strange and troubled for music and musicians (as well as for everyone else). Thanks to our philistine, economically irrational UK government, musicians and others whose lives depend on live performance have had it very tough indeed – but anyone who understands that the arts are crucial to … Continue reading Piano Forte: 75 minutes with Thomas Adès (and Ludwig van…)
A confession: while I’ve always enjoyed classical music, until around 12 years ago I was generally quite wary of contemporary composers, and tended to stick to a few favourites like Arvo Pärt, Michael Nyman, Terry Riley, John Adams, Giya Kancheli and – really adventurous, this! – James MacMillan. (My interest in the last came about … Continue reading Mixing the old with the new: richly rewarding recent classical releases.
In December 2017 and 2018, I posted brief pieces highlighting some of my favourites movies and music which had been released on disc during the previous 12 months; I hoped they might prove helpful for anyone wondering what to buy for Christmas presents. The posts seemed to go down quite well, so this year I’m … Continue reading Movies and music for Christmas 2019 (and beyond…)
London, as any fule kno, is a great city for live music; spoilt for choice almost every night, you could spend a fortune, if you had such a thing. (I don't, by the way.) But if you choose carefully and avoid the big, expensive gigs, you can pack in a fair bit. It's all about quality. For me … Continue reading ‘In a class of his own’: some notes on pianist Igor Levit
notes and observations by Geoff Andrew 