CLASSICAL ICONOCLAST

John Eliot Gardiner conducts the Berlioz French Freischütz tonight at Prom 70, but here is another version, conducted by Jean-Paul Penin.

Andris Nelsons is conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker on Sunday morning 1100 German time. Despite a horribly busy week, I'll be up e...

Not being a special fan of Willy Decker, it was interesting to read about his staging of Wagner Tristan und Isolde at the Ruhr Trienniale. H...

For a change, don't run off for coffee in the interval between the first and second parts of Prom 70 (Bridge, Birtwistle, Holst). Listen...

On Friday Prom 73, Weber's Der Freischütz turns into Berlioz's transcription thereof, en français. Before one screams sacrilege, ...

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's two BBC Proms 68 and 69 dovetailed nicely, again proving the adage, "Music should disturb the c...

"Music should disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed" , a phrase coined by one of my friends. However, Prom 68, with Ma...

Tonight's Prom 68 could be a milestone. Manfred Honeck conducts the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in Walter Braunfels, Phantastische Ers...

So stunned by Prom 67, Beethoven Missa Solemnis , Colin Davis/LSO, that I'm staying up late to hear it again on TV d etails here ). Gosh...

Trumpets and Demons ! Marches and Dances of Death ! In Prom 63, Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra set the Royal Albert Hall a...

Quick post, as I have three fairly major posts in the pipeline. Watch this space ! New photos in of Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík, Icela...

NEWSFLASH, uproar at BBC Prom 62, Zubin Mehta conducting the Israel Philharmonic. Extremely safe repertoire (which is why I wasn't liste...

A dictator stands on a balcony addressing the masses. "We are a great country, we need space to live" The crowds roar in hysteric...

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony has featured in 114 Proms since 1897. With its message of Alle Menschen werden Brüder !, it could be the the...

Is this cartoon racist ? It was made in 1930 and depicts San Francisco (note landmarks and islands) . But then, most white Americans had no...