Stepping into the cool foyer of Wigmore Hall in the middle of a blisteringly hot London day has the same effect as a chilled drink on a summer’s day: instantly cool and refreshing. Unfortunately, seeing as only bottled water was

In its 30th year, the 2014 Lufthansa Festival presented a variety of music heard in Britain during the early 18th century under the reign of the Georgian dynasty. There were many favourites on offer, such as Handel’s Coronation Anthems, Ode

With a plot centred on a threat to a concert pianist – ‘Play one wrong note and you die’ – the film ‘Grand Piano’ sounded intriguing. The small but strong cast, starring Elijah Wood and John Cusack, made it seem

A few nights ago, Hong Kongers greeted the return of the prodigious Russian pianist, Evgeny Kissin, with pure rapture. It has been three years since his last visit, but music-lovers here have not at all forgotten about him. The fact

in vain Last Friday, a packed out Queen Elizabeth Hall played host to the London Sinfonietta’s performance of Georg Friedrich Haas’ in vain, generating an air of cultist excitement around its London premiere. The piece’s famous use of darkness and

The atmosphere was electric. A mix of current Guildhall students, teachers, professors, alumni, critics and music lovers all piled in to the intimate Milton Court concert hall – Guildhall’s new music and drama venue. To celebrate the opening of this

On Friday, 1 November, and Saturday, 2 November, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, under Lorin Maazel performed an evening of Wagner. But, it wasn’t Wagner as most of us knew it. The evening started with the Siegfried Idyll, famously given its

Edvard GriegPiano Sonata in E Minor, Op. 7II. Andante molto Edvard Hagerup Grieg (1843-1907) is widely acknowledged as a central figure in the emergence of a distinctively Scandinavian tone in nineteenth century music. Even the composer, in his own words,