New post-national lockdown rules indicate bigger audience numbers in live performance venues.
Brimming with colour, energy and detail, this new release from Orchid Classics lifts the mood with hope and celebration.
News out on Twitter this evening that classical music PR Dvora Lewis has died. For the majority the name probably won’t mean anything. And to a subsection of that majority to even highlight her departure is evidence of the classical music sector’s aching insularity. But. The reason to flag her departure is because of the…
ENO’s performance of Mozart’s Requiem conducted by Mark Wigglesworth with soloists Elizabeth Llewellyn, Sarah Connolly, Ed Lyon and Gerald Finley was originally planned to be filmed in front of a social distanced Coliseum audience. England’s second lockdown put pay to that. Elizabeth Llewellyn undoubtedly shone in the performance with a gentle, delicate sound that felt…
News this week that Jess Gillam is launching another lockdown virtual scratch orchestra brought a smile to my face. As role models go Gillam’s activity throughout 2020 in response to COVID has been impressive, acting as a beacon for young musicians and amateurs alike. That along with her obvious industry, determination and spirit, not only…
Arts Council England and DCMS have today announced the latest tranche of grants given to arts and culture organisations across the country. The organisations who have received over £1 million in the second round are: Sheffield City Trust £2,243,000 The Lowry Centre Trust £3,000,000 North York Moors Historical Railway Trust £1,904,902 Academy Music Group Ltd…
Meet my new pal: Beethoven’s violin concerto. I was originally a little unsure of it when I first came across it. It wasn’t Tchaikovsky. Or Mendelssohn. Or Brahms. It seemed heavier, laden with I don’t know what. Much deference seemed to be paid to it. And it was long. Very long. Something has changed in…
Earlier this week I took a trip to Henry Wood Hall in London to hear Jack Liebeck recording Ysaye sonatas for Orchid Classics. I was only there for an hour, but hearing fractured sequences of a vaguely familiar piece created a moment that seemed to go on for ever. The live audience experience is right…
Sunday mornings are best. Cushioned escapes from the week gone by, all wrapped up in a fluffy dressing gown, sipping coffee from a mug. Outside, bushes flail around in the wind, and if I’m not mistaken there’s a little bit of drizzle too. Such wistful descriptions identify where I am at the present time, not…