Benjamin Appl baritone; Simon Lepper piano. Songs by Schubert, Kurtag, Brahms, Liszt and Eisler This was a recital I was looking forward to as a challenge – to explore works new to me. Appl, a much-praised young German singer, was the last student Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau took on, and so Appl has set up a European tourContinue reading “Song Recital, Wigmore Hall 20/6/25 7pm”
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Baroque in the North
I had forgotten to review a short concert I went to by a group called Baroque in the North recently I have heard them twice before. There are three players – a harpsichordist, a Baroque cello player and someone who successively plays a baroque violin, a recorder and ‘musette’, a kind of bagpipe. They offerContinue reading “Baroque in the North”
Wagner, The Flying Dutchman. Opera Holland Park. 12/6/25
Paul Carey Jones, The Dutchman; Eleanor Dennis, Senta; Robert Winslade Anderson, Daland; Neal Cooper, Erik; Angharad Lyddon, Mary; Colin Judson, Steersman. Peter Selwyn, Conductor; Julia Burbach, Director; Naomi Dawson, Set Designer; Sussie Juhlin-Wallén, Costume Designer; Robert Price, Lighting Designer. I haven’t been to the Holland Park Opera set-up since 2021 (when I saw excellent productionsContinue reading “Wagner, The Flying Dutchman. Opera Holland Park. 12/6/25”
Wigmore French Song Exchange lunchtime recital, Wigmore Hall 12/6/25
Bethan Terry, soprano; Ellen Pearson, mezzo-soprano; Harun Tekin, tenor; Anton Kirchhoff, baritone. Anna Giorgi, Francesca Lauri,Jia Ning Ng, piano This is apparently the fifth year of the Wigmore French Song Exchange, devised by Dame Felicity Lott and François Le Roux, two great champions of the mélodie, alongside Sebastian Wybrew. The programme offers gifted singers andContinue reading “Wigmore French Song Exchange lunchtime recital, Wigmore Hall 12/6/25”
Brahms, Weinberg. CBS0, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. Symphony Hall, Birmingham. 11/6/25
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, conductor; CBSO, Stephen Waarts, violin. Brahms, Violin Concerto; Weinberg, Symphony No.5 in F Minor The programming of this concert seemed odd – what possible connection could Weinberg and Brahms have? Probably the simple explanation is that the CBSO needed to programme a crowd-pleaser alongside the unknown Weinberg….. I’ve not heard of Stephen Waarts before thisContinue reading “Brahms, Weinberg. CBS0, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. Symphony Hall, Birmingham. 11/6/25”
Richard Strauss and the Cello – An Afternoon with Alice Neary: Lauderdale House, London
Alice Neary (cello), Sophia Rahman (piano): Richard Strauss Cello Sonata, Op. 6 (1881); Franz Schmidt Fantasy Pieces after Hungarian National Melodies (1892); Richard Strauss Don Quixote finale, Op. 35 (1898) This was a delightful short recital to accompany a relaunching of the UK Richard Strauss Society, a meeting which included a number of prominentContinue reading “Richard Strauss and the Cello – An Afternoon with Alice Neary: Lauderdale House, London”
Wagner, Parsifal. Glyndebourne Festival Opera: 6/6/25
Conductor, Robin Ticciati; Director, Jetske Mijnssen; Set Designer, Ben Baur; Costume Designer, Gideon Davey; Choreographer, Dustin Klein; Lighting Designer, Fabrice Kebour. London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Glyndebourne Chorus. Cast: Parsifal, Daniel Johansson; Gurnemanz, John Relyea; Kundry, Kristina Stanek; Amfortas, Audun Iversen; Klingsor, Ryan Speedo Green; Titurel, John Tomlinson In the essay ‘Religion and Art’ (1880) WagnerContinue reading “Wagner, Parsifal. Glyndebourne Festival Opera: 6/6/25”
Rossini, Barber of Seville. Met Opera HD screening, Sheffield Curzon Cinema, 31/5/25
Conductor, Giacomo Sagripanti; Rosina, Aigul Akhmetshina; Count Almaviva, Jack Swanson; Figaro, Andrey Zhilikhovsky; Dr. Bartolo, Peter Kálmán; Don Basilio, Alexander Vinogradov. Director, Bartlett Sher; Set Designer, Michael Yeargan; Costumes, Catherine Zuber It is a long time since I’ve heard the Barber of Seville – it’s probably 45-50 years since I’ve heard it live in theContinue reading “Rossini, Barber of Seville. Met Opera HD screening, Sheffield Curzon Cinema, 31/5/25”
Unsuk Chin/Beethoven. Halle, Wong. Bridgewater Hall. 29/5/25
Kahchun Wong, conductor; Wu Wei, sheng; Nardus Williams, soprano; Susan Bickley, mezzo-soprano; Nicky Spence, tenor; William Thomas, bass; Hallé Choir, Matthew Hamilton choral director. Unsuk Chin, Su. Beethoven Symphony No.9, ‘Choral’ David Butcher, the Halle CEO, said before the beginning of this concert that Halle ticket sales were 33% up this season compared to theContinue reading “Unsuk Chin/Beethoven. Halle, Wong. Bridgewater Hall. 29/5/25”
Mozart/Beethoven/ Elgar; Ensemble 360, Crucible, Sheffield, 24/5/25
Mozart Flute Quartet in D K285; Beethoven Quintet for Piano and Wind Op.16; Elgar Piano Quintet Op.84 It’s a pity I have been to so little of the Ensemble 360 annual Chamber Music Festival – a lot of good things to go and see (20 concerts) but in the event this was only the second and last I’veContinue reading “Mozart/Beethoven/ Elgar; Ensemble 360, Crucible, Sheffield, 24/5/25”
John's musical journey 