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

Watch LSO Colin Davis Hector Berlioz sought gainful employment in the theatre and at the Conservatoire, but he never applied for a church job. His pronouncements about religious music are the views of an unorthodox Christian, but he nevertheless set

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

A significant development in the world of opera over the last few decades has been the emergence of new opportunities for young artists. Many opera houses now have Young Artist schemes, such as the Jette Parker programme at the Royal

This all-day event at the Royal Albert Hall was a celebration of not one but two creative artists – J.S. Bach, and the conductor John Eliot Gardiner. Gardiner is 70 this year, and this Bach Marathon was principally led by

I’ve watched many performances of Madame Butterfly since my teens – in Paris, London, Verona –and I must confess that apart from the famous Un bel dì vedremo aria or the Humming Chorus, I get pretty bored if the performance