CLASSICAL ICONOCLAST

Here's a pic of a blind musician ensemble at the turn of the last century. The man on the table is playing a gu zheng (dulcimer) and th...

The erhu is a Chinese bowed instrument, with a resonating box, a bit like a western violin, but more plaintive and "liquid". It...

This is where we'll be spending lots of time in the next few years ! On October 1st, King's Place will open near King's Cross. E...

Ruth Elleson writes : "Although it's often labelled as a melodrama, Tabarro is more subtle than that – a study of unfulfilled, ro...

The Excursions of Mr Brouček has a reputation for being unexportable because of the references to Czech history and Prague art circles in ...

This Prom was supposed to replicate the premiere of Mahler's Fifth Symphony on October 18th 1904 using the same orchestra, the G ürzenic...

So what if the Proms don’t do fully staged operas ? If anything this performance of Janáček’s Osud proved the benefits of presenting opera ...

I just had a message from someone (not Mark) saying "Just up on Mark's blog Boulezian is a WONDER FUL review of last night's fa...

Why have I left it to the last minute to listen to the repeat broadcast of Gustavo Dudamel's Prom ? Dudamel was the triumphant sensation...

Contrary to popular assumption, Janáček wasn’t “folkloric” per se, much as he loved his Moravian heritage. Boulez’s perceptive approach show...

Because L’Histoire du Soldat contains spoken words, it’s easy to assume that a conventional reading will suffice. Hence some of the elab...

No, I'm not comparing the uncomparable. Just pointing to interesting things ! Mark has been to Bayreuth. Hated Meistersinger and LOVE...

This was the Prom everyone will kick themselves for missing because it was way out in Sloane Square in the middle of the day. Messiaen'...

On Friday Pierre Boulez is conducting Janáček's Glagolitic Mass at the Proms. This will be a must as he hasn't officially reco...

From Stravinsky to Rachmaninov, from Elliott Carter to Ferneyhough, so many "modern" composers draw inspiration from early music. ...