Author: jeremy chan
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Standing ovation for Angela Hewitt’s Goldberg Variations
I have long adored Angela Hewitt’s Hyperion recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations but have never been able to see her perform it live, so when Gerald Finley cancelled their Wigmore lieder recital and Angela pulled out the Goldberg Variations as a substitute, I considered it a happy misfortune. Once again, a completely packed Wigmore Hall…
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The Yuja Wang Phenomenon at Royal Festival Hall
Programme: Barber: Piano Sonata in E flat minor, Op.26 Shostakovich: Prelude and Fugue in A minor, Op.87 No.2; Prelude in G sharp minor, Op.34 No.12; Prelude in C sharp minor, Op.34 No.10; Prelude and Fugue in F sharp minor, Op.87 No.8; Prelude in D minor, Op.34 No.24; Prelude in D, Op.34 No.5; Prelude in B flat minor, Op.34 No.16; Prelude and Fugue in D…
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A creative programme of flute music by Karen Wong and Lance Mok
Programme: Lili Boulanger “D’un matin de printemps” (1917) Claude Arrieu Sonatine for Flute and Piano (1943) Philippe Gaubert Fantasie for Flute and Piano (1912) Maurice Ravel, arr. Alain Craens “Ma Mer l’Oye” Suite for Flute and Piano (1908, 2018) Francis Poulenc Sonata for Flute and Piano (1957) Hong Kong flautist Karen Wong and her duo…
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Anatomy of a Fall: much more than a courtroom drama
Finally had the time to sit down for almost three hours in the evening to watch Anatomy of a Fall, French filmmaker Justine Triet’s take on the courtroom drama which won her not only the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Festival but also a nomination for Best Picture at the Oscars this year. Most reviews…
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Aurélien Pontier: “Joyful Apocalypse” and the Power of Nostalgia
Ahead of his album release for Warner Classics, I had the pleasure of speaking to French pianist Aurélien Pontier about his new album “Joyful Apocalypse”. “The title is taken from an exhibition put on by the Musée d’Orsay which I visited some years ago,” Aurélien told me. “Artworks from fin-de-siècle Vienna were displayed,” he said,…
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David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas: visionary masterpiece or experimental flop?
I recently finished British novelist David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, the novel that brought him to the world’s attention probably because of the rather controversial 2012 film adaptation starring the likes of Hallé Berry, Tom Hanks and Hugh Grant (which I have yet to see!) I started reading the book intending to go to an event…
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Brahms and Messiaen presented by Anthony McGill and the Kaleidoscope Collective
Anthony McGill and the Kaleidoscope Collective presented a fantastic concert last night at Milton Court Concert Hall centring on two major works that incorporates the clarinet into a traditional ensemble structure: Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet and Messiaen’s “End of Time Quartet”. The Brahms adds the clarinet to a conventional string quartet formation while the Messiaen substitutes…
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Full house for Angela Hewitt at Wigmore Hall
It was a full house last night welcoming Angela Hewitt back to the Wigmore Hall for yet another triumphant recital. You really feel the capacity of this venue when it takes you the entire interval just to queue to the toilet! At an age where many would pare down their repertoire to a few gems,…
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A marriage of words and music: “Rachmaninov Songs” at Wigmore Hall
What a wonderful marriage of words and music, of intellect and expression, of ideas and feelings in the third of four concerts as part of the Wigmore Hall “Rachmaninov Song Series” co-curated by pianist and accompanist Iain Burnside and Oxford University Professor of Russian Literature and Music Philip Ross Bullock! The concert was presented alongside…
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Vadym Kholodenko’s core-shaking Rzewski Variations
It takes courage and commitment on the part of the audience member to attend a Sunday afternoon recital featuring two ultra heavyweight pieces: Mozart’s Requiem (arranged for solo piano) and Rzewski’s Variations on “The People United Will Never Be Defeated”. But this was Vadym Kholodenko, and people make exceptions for this unassuming yet radically unconventional…
Literally Left-handed 