“In Silence, we can truly hear the voice of God” Ten years ago, on 12 November 2013, the British composer John Tavener (1944-2013) died at his home in Child Okeford, Dorset. Tavener had been battling considerable health problems throughout his

“Father of Musick” 400 years ago, on 4 July 1623, William Byrd (1540-1623) died at Stondon Massey, a small village near Chipping Ongar in Essex. According to his will, he was buried in the parish churchyard, but his grave has

‘All I care about is making good music and singing it well’ Young British tenor Laurence Kilsby is no stranger to success: having won first prizes at the 2023 Heidelburger Frühling Festspiele’s “Das Lied”, 2022 Wigmore Hall/Bollinger International Song and

Communicate Something Somehow to Everyone All the Time Tenor Nicholas Mulroy started his singing career in his native Liverpool’s cathedral choir, and after a hiatus from singing in his teen years, joined the chapel choir of Clare College, Cambridge, where

‘Understand their world through your own life experience’ Ryan Corbett: Spanische Caprice Originally starting self-taught on the instrument, young Scottish accordionist Ryan Corbett has become a rising star. Currently in his final year of study at the Royal Conservatoire of

A Unique Musical Journey I should probably begin this Artist of the Month article with a little disclaimer: this month’s offering is something slightly different, as, erm, I’m in the group being featured. Nevertheless, I will aim to keep my

If you have ever taken formal piano lessons, there is a good chance that you will have played some of Johann Baptist Cramer’s celebrated set of 84 studies for the piano. Published in two sets of 42 each in 1804

With performances from Moscow to Newcastle, Dresden to Geneva, young British conductor and composer Duncan Ward has had a very busy year, given the current circumstances. As 2020 draws to a close, I catch up with him and hear his