Mass in D major, Op. 123, “Missa Solemnis” (Philharmonic Symphony, Walter) (1948) ‘Is this the greatest piece ever written?’ Such was the question fired at me by Sir Roger Norrington during our correspondence in preparation for the recent performance of

Dance Preludes When you’re asked to think of a twentieth-century composer who uses imaginative textures and sounds, who do you think of? Ravel? Boulez? What about folk melodies – who springs to mind then? Bartok, or maybe Vaughan-Williams? And an

It was recently reported that Hunan province is going to build its very own “Sydney Opera House”, which is due to be completed in 2015. The designer is the renowned architect Zaha Hadid, who also designed the Guangzhou Opera House,

I spent much of last year studying Wagner’s great tetralogy of music dramas, The Ring of the Nibelung. If anyone hasn’t done so, I would heartily recommend it – simply to list the number of things I found fascinating about

With the start of a new year, it is always good to summarise the highlights of the previous one and reflect on ways to make the very most of the one to come. The year 2012 has been busy. We

Last month, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, led by chief conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, performed a six-concert tour in China. This included visiting Qingdao and Wuhan ‒ two cities where few big orchestras get to play, due to the financial constraints of

The name Angela Gheorghiu is synonymous with diva, opera, beauty, passion, and romance. Audiences across the globe wait for and cherish the opportunity to see her perform live in the opera theatre. She is an immediate draw and therefore a

West Side Story Leonard Bernstein It was announced in the spring of 2012 that the Indianapolis Symphony would include in its upcoming Pops Series three “live” performances of the 1961 classic movie West Side Story, with music by Leonard Bernstein,