Jonathan Ferrucci x Matthew Johnson at Wimbledon International Music Festival: Bach’s Goldberg Variations
Pictures of a half-naked Jonathan Ferrucci in different poses and positions pepper the walls of St John the Baptist Church in Wimbledon. These are the fruits of a creative collaboration between pianist and yogi Jonathan Ferrucci and photographer (and sometimes cellist) Matthew Johnson surrounding Bach’s timeless Goldberg Variations, presented at the Wimbledon International Music Festival.…
Richard Goode’s late Beethoven and Schumann at Wigmore Hall
What better way to break my summer hiatus from Wigmore Hall than to attend a recital by Richard Goode? The cool autumn breeze out on Wigmore Street put me in the perfect mood for late Beethoven and Schumann, and Goode delivered a masterly reading that showed just how warm and intimate the music of the…
Iván Fischer and his Grand Budapest Festival Orchestra at Proms
The Budapest Festival Orchestra gave a tremendous performance of Beethoven and Bartók to an absolutely packed Royal Albert Hall last night. The air sizzled with their electrifying energy and their boundless eagerness to share music captured everyone from the standing arena to the top gallery. I had heard Iván and the BFO a few years…
The Fidelio Collective Debuts at Fidelio Café
The Fidelio Collective made its successful debut yesterday evening at a packed Fidelio Café in Clerkenwell. As commuters swarmed towards Farringdon station on a cool summer evening in London, I gingerly picked my way against the tide and ducked into Fidelio Café, bang in the centre of Clerkenwell Road commanding an open view on that…
Enchanting Kantorow at the Proms
On Friday I finally had the chance to see Alexandre Kantorow, a pianist who is only gone on to scale higher and higher heights since his magnificent win at the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition. Unfortunately, I didn’t seem to be the only one to think that, because not only were the sitting tickets sold out, the…
Beneath the surface: Lugansky’s Rach 3
Rachmaninov’s Third Concerto. The pinnacle of pianism. The king of concertos. A name that was once an Everest for worthy pianists but now is a regular feature in concert halls, perhaps even more so in competitions. This concerto is so familiar, especially to pianists like me, that one already has certain expectations of how they…
Bavouzet’s Ravel-athon: storm and drama at Wigmore Hall
2025 marks the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth (also the 100th anniversary of Satie’s death but that’s just an excuse for a handful of pianists to break World Records by performing his “Vexations”) and somehow his complete oeuvre for solo piano manage to fit into an extended solo recital, so a select few pianists have…
Creative Minds in Song and Michał Kawecki‘s “My Child”: Telling stories with music
Music has, in some ways, always been a kind of storytelling but at times it becomes a crucial way of sharing real life stories of struggle and healing, a creative outlet of de-stigmatising certain experiences, the oil to lubricate the wheels of social change. I attended the 10-year celebration concert of Creative Minds in Song…
Yunchan Lim takes on the Goldberg Variations
I still cannot believe the pianist I saw at Wigmore Hall today is only 21 years old! Yunchan Lim took on Bach’s Goldberg Variations, a monumental piece in piano literature stigmatically branded with a “Touch but do not perform until mature” label in the classical world, with a confidence and assuredness such as I have…
Mao Fujita playing Mozart with the Philharmonia: delicate as bubbles
In the third movement of Mozart’s final piano concerto, he quotes a popular children’s song, Longing for Spring, using it as his rondo theme. Quite a fitting theme for yesterday’s programme with the Philharmonia Orchestra, since after much back and forth I have decided that spring had indeed finally arrived in London. A bold statement…
Nobuyuki Tsujii at Royal Festival Hall: Fearless
Despite being a pianist myself, and having (struggled) through the Chopin First Concerto, nothing prepared me for the unbelievable feat that Nobuyuki Tsujii pulled off right before my eyes tonight at the Royal Festival Hall. The evening began with the Philharmonia Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien, which under Principal Conductor Santtu Matias-Rouvali’s baton had a…
Bayerische Staatsoper’s “Lucrezia Borgia”: Minimalist, modern, melodrama
I’m happy to report that my first experience at a German Opera House was a very good one! Last night the Bayerische Staatsoper (Bavarian State Opera) put on Donizetti’s “Lucrezia Borgia”, a two-act musical melodrama about Italian families at war, illegitimate children and murderous, cheating wives. Oh, and just casual incest when we realize the…
Leif Ove Andsnes at Wigmore Hall: a Deep respect for sound
Programme Edvard Grieg Piano Sonata in E minor, op. 7 Geirr Tveitt Piano Sonata No. 29 “Sonata Etere”, op. 129 Fryderyk Chopin 24 Preludes, op. 28 I was lucky to snag a last-minute return ticket to Leif Ove Andsnes’ sold out Wigmore Hall recital last night. I had to pay a little more than the…
The importance of stories: brief reflections on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
Two nights ago, amid the heavy wind and rain, I arrived at Queen Elizabeth Hall at Southbank Centre to attend the Orwell Memorial Lecture 2024, given by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Each year, the speaker chosen is allowed total freedom to choose his or her lecture topic, the only requirement being that it should be a topic…
Sir Stephen Hough at Barbican Hall: a brilliant showman
Programme: The programme Sir Stephen Hough presented at the Barbican Hall last night was almost exclusively Romantic; even his own composition, Sonatina Nostalgica–commissioned by his alma mater Chetham’s School of Music and written for British pianist Philip Fowke–was, as he told his audience, steeped in the language of English Romanticism. Nevertheless, it was a mixed…
Daniel Kidane at Wigmore Hall: a new voice drawing from the past
Programme: Interval In the final concert of the Daniel Kidane Focus Day at Wigmore Hall, the Manchester Camerata presented works by the British composer which highlighted his creative dialogue with Ye Olde Grand Master of classical music, Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as his affinity for the string sound. The programme juxtaposed Daniel Kidane’s compositions–the…
Alexandra Dariescu’s “The Nutcracker and I” at Milton Court
A full house at Milton Court Concert Hall sits waiting as little Clara walks to the upright piano and begins playing her first chords. Then her image disappears, replaced by graceful snowflakes whirling around, and behind the gauze screen on which a digital animated story would unfold before our eyes for the next 45 minutes,…
Martín García García at Westminster Cathedral Hall for the Fryderyk Chopin Institute
This afternoon I was invited to a promotional event put on jointly by the Chopin Society UK and the Fredyryk Chopin Institute of Poland during which I got to hear Martín García García, 3rd Prize Winner of the most recent Chopin Competition, perform an hour-long all-Chopin recital. I had wanted to hear Martín play for…
“Waiting for Godot”, a brilliant way to pass the time
How does one sit through a three-hour play about, well, nothing? The answer lies at Theatre Royal Haymarket, in James McDonald’s production of Samuel Beckett’s play “Waiting for Godot” starring Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati. I had studied Beckett’s play many years ago when I was studying literature at Durham, but to see it live…
“King Lear”, but make it Korean and Changgeuk
There could not be a more perfect place to witness the fusion of two very different cultural heritages than London. Home to the famous Shakespeare’s Globe and now a melting pot of different cultures, it is the perfect place for the National Changgeuk Company of Korea to stage their production of “Lear”, their take on…
Review: Karin Miura at St. James’s Piccadilly
Braving the incessant drizzle that seemed a dreary premonition of what’s to come in the UK in less than a month, I dodged all the Saturday Piccadilly promenaders and stepped into St. James’s Church for Karin Miura’s lunchtime recital. Nestled amongst Hatchard’s, Fortnum and Mason and other landmark British establishments along Piccadilly, St. James’s Church…
Review: Steven Isserlis, Charles Owen and Irène Duval at Fidelio Café
The trio brought a diverse programme that fitted the cosy and intimate setting of Fidelio Café in Clerkenwell to a tee yesterday. The small café looking out on the bustling Farringdon Road was packed with diners yesterday as they eagerly awaited the trio. At Fidelio you get the unique experience of exquisite piano music juxtaposed…
Proms 27 Review: Saariaho, Seong Jin Cho and Strauss
Yesterday was my first time back at the BBC Proms this year, the annual summer classical music festival hosted by the UK’s official radio station at the Royal Albert Hall. It’s always nice to see classical music being performed in less formal settings, and the BBC have done well in their programming, introducing new music…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
Seong-Jin Cho’s Electrifying Beethoven 4 with the LPO
Seong-Jin Cho gave a supreme performance of Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto with Ed Gardner leading the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall. Regrettably I was sat high up in the balcony, in the last row to be exact. Tickets for concerts with star Korean pianists are often hard to come by, and I didn’t…
Ana-Carmen Balestra’s Guildhall Wigmore Prize Recital
“Not your average Wigmore recital” is how I would describe Ana-Carmen Balestra’s concert last night to those who weren’t there. An opera singer by nature (even her name bears traces of an operatic destiny), Ana brought her compelling personality and charm from the theatre stage to the intimate Wigmore Hall and enlarged the space with…
Charles Owen’s magical recital at Westminster Cathedral Hall
Programme: Chopin Polonaise-Fantasie, op. 61 Schumann Carnaval, op. 9 Chopin Berceuse, op. 57 Chopin Barcarolle, op. 60 Prokofiev Piano Sonata No. 2 in D minor, op. 14 Encore: Ravel Pavane pour une infante défunte On Sunday afternoon pianist Charles Owen delivered a magical recital for the Chopin Society UK. It was a concert where Charles…
Exciting debut for Willow Orchestra and Bogdan Skrypka
Programme: Franz von Suppé Overture to the Queen of Spades Sergei Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 Encore: Shostakovich Waltz from Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2 On Thursday evening Willow Orchestra gave its auspicious debut concert at Holy Sepulchre Church under the direction of founder and conductor Bogdan…
Review: Classical Piano meets…comedy show?
It is the creation of someone who wants to communicate her love for classical music in a much more relatable and contemporary context, who sees classical music as a way of interacting with modern life rather than being insulated from it.
Seong-Jin Cho at the Barbican: Stunning, sensational, and yet…
It was the performance of a great master and a showcase of magnificent playing as well as impressive endurance, yet Cho for me didn’t bring the personal touch required of the pieces he chose to programme.
Beethoven 4 by Eric Lu, Marin Alsop and the LSO
Right from the very beginning of the concerto, Eric had firmly placed his signature mark on it with the unique, exquisite sound only he could evince from this grand ivory instrument.
CD Review: KaJeng Wong’s “God Pray Love”
“KaJeng brings to it a deep and personal idea of what programming should be like, a skilled honed through years of experimenting and performing, and takes his listeners on a journey that is simultaneously personal and universal.”
Paul Lewis at the Wigmore Hall
A very different kind of performance from a very different kind of pianist. Schubert Sonatas at the Wigmore Hall.
Olli Mustonen plays Prokofiev at Wigmore Hall
A rather disappointing Prokofiev sonata cycle and sadly not one for the books.
Clare Hammond on “Ghosts and Whispers”
Clare Hammond talks about teaming up with composer John Woolrich and filmmakers the Quay Brothers in their grand multimedia project with sinister undertones, “Ghosts and Whispers”.
London Piano Festival 2022: Paul Roberts and Charles Owen exploring Liszt
I was really touched by the fragile beauty that he achieved through this inspiration, an inspiration which came from words as much as sound.
Noriko Ogawa and Katya Apekisheva at the London Piano Festival 2022
Played together as sets, the preludes give the audience short and sweet musical vignettes to bring home in their memories as inspirational souvenirs.
London Piano Festival 2022: Schubertiade
There were a lot of crossing and joining of hands tonight, and even some crossing of feet, at the Schubertiade of the London Piano Festival
Tamara Stefanovich at the London Piano Festival 2022
Watching one of Tamara’s recital is like watching an entire series of Breaking Bad; it all makes sense but the ending is the furthest thing you can imagine happening from the first note she plays.
Yoav Levanon’s UK Debut Recital
Serious déjà vu last night when Franz Liszt took leave of his grave to perform a stunning recital for us in the form of a young Israeli pianist called Yoav Levanon.
Pollini at 80
There was great narrative drive in his playing–never did he once compromise the voicing of the melodies, even at technically treacherous bits–and I thought the last movement of the Fantasie was beautiful played at the rather brisker-than-normal tempo and devoid of sloppy sentimentality.
Tamara Stefanovich’s 20 Sonatas at Southbank Centre
Went to see Tamara Stefanovich play her marathon of 20 sonatas today, what an incredible experience. She played 20 sonatas from across the history of the sonata form, mixing Scarlatti with Hindemith, Soler with Ustvolskaya to create the most amazing cocktail of classical music I have ever tasted! She divided the sonatas into three recitals…
The concert as a spiritual journey
s a greater force at work than the emotional effect of the musical pieces chosen. The separate pieces lose their individual significance as they merge into something greater, a power of pure sound, passion and even mysticism.
Concert Review: BBC Proms Opening Night
Thank god for the return of full-capacity theatres and concert halls! Thank god for the return of promming! Managed to get a hold of two Promming tickets online (thank god for online ticketing systems!) this morning and so was able to join in the celebration of the return of a live audience to the BBC…
Concert Review: Benjamin Grosvenor for the BBC Radio 3 Rush Hour Concert
Tonight was my first time attending a concert at Jerwood Hall, LSO St Luke’s, literally steps away from my school. To honour the establishment of my concert-going relationship with this incredible church-converted music hall, I had the privilege of listening to Benjamin Grosvenor’s astounding piano playing. Jerwood Hall was a peaceful shelter away from the…
Concert Review: EXAUDI’s Chromatic Renaissance at the Wigmore Hall
To feast my ears on the wonderfully eclectic programme curated by the EXAUDI vocal ensemble and, of course, to attend the Wigmore Hall debut as well as world premiere of the composition of my dear friend, Elisabet Dijkstra: here, now.
Concert Review: London Symphony Orchestra/ Michael Tilson Thomas & Yuja Wang
My review of a shockingly disappointing post-lockdown opening concert by the LSO
Literally Left-handed 