Death is the great leveller, affecting all individuals irrespective of nationality, ethnicity or creed. It comes to us all, each and every one of us, and the most prescient of…
Author: Alexander Hall
It’s all in the telling: Jennifer France, Edward Gardner and the LPO
Music encompasses many different kinds of storytelling, with and without overt narration. In the world of fictional narratives, there are often heroes or victors, villains or antagonists, stereotypical characters, and…
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and Monteverdi Choir present a composer who catches you by surprise
It was all going so well for him. He was already a celebrated opera composer, having made opera buffa something of a calling card, and in just 23 years had…
In from the cold: Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri at Hamburg State Opera
Fashions come and go. What might be hailed by one generation is often ridiculed by the next one. That was the fate of Schumann’s secular oratorio Das Paradies und die…
He Who Laughs Last, Lasts Longest: Salieri’s La locandiera
For those familiar with Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus film, it was Salieri who had the last laugh. He outlived Mozart by 34 years, not dying until 1825, so this year marks…
Proms 2025: Golda Schultz, A Study in Gold
You always remember exceptional voices when you hear them for the first time. I heard and reviewed Golda Schultz back in 2018 when she made her debut at the Proms.…
Proms 2025: Fabio Luisi and his Danish Forces Serve Up a Bright and Breezy Beethoven 9
Given that Beethoven’s final symphony normally has a playing time of just over an hour, what can you sensibly pair with it in the first half? Something else by Beethoven,…
Proms 2025: East and West collide with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Making unusual connections is one of the hallmarks of the BBC Proms. Honouring Sofia Gubaidulina, who died aged 93 in March, this concert opened with the sound of soft tubular…
Pocket-sized Wagner: Grimeborn Opera’s Tristan und Isolde
Much has been written about Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, and for various reasons. It is one of the most compelling love stories of all time, with roots stretching back to…
A journey through space and time with Benjamin Appl
Schubert’s Winterreise is listed under the catalogue number D911 as part of the Deutsch-Verzeichnis, the method by which all his works are uniquely identified. More often than not, this sole…