The Barbican Centre witnessed contemplations on death and fate this evening (May 17, 2024). Under the baton of Anna Rakitina, the BBC Symphony Orchestra was set to perform the London premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s The Wrath of God and Rachmaninoff’s

Appointed artist-in-residence at the Wigmore Hall for the 2023/24 season, Ukrainian-born Australian pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk stands out as one of the most promising pianists of his generation – I mean, you have to be pretty good to receive standing ovations

The history of Kurt Weill’s 1930 masterpiece, Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny) at the Greek National Opera is an uneasy tale of power and achievement. The first production in 1977 was

The Frenchman Stéphane Lissner, current Sovrintendente and Artistic Director of the storied Teatro San Carlo in Naples, can be credited with upgrading the program and quality of what was once the leading opera house in Italy. Most importantly, he has

This new release from British pianist Ashley Wass celebrates a significant milestone in his musical life – some 40 years since he first touched the keys of a piano. Black and White, the album and corresponding live concerts, is a

Music by women composers is now almost ubiquitous in concert programmes and recordings, and the contribution of female composers to classical music’s oeuvre is finally being properly recognised, though not without significant effort on the part of advocates, such as

Just when we think the world is saturated with a profuse presence of piano competitions, a new one has sprung up in a unique format, promoting classical music in a most unexpected location. Judging from its immense operational scope, vast

A new book by Richard Beaudoin published in 2024 by Oxford University Press, Oxford Studies in Music Theory division, came to our attention recently. Sounds As They Are is a beautiful-looking hardback of 240 dense pages with musical examples, an