I was at Cardiff’s Gate Arts Centre last Tuesday for an evening of short operas presented by a group of students from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. The main work was an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s tale The Nightiingale And The Rose with music by Tom Floyd to a libretto by David [...]
There was a time when great singers made music that carved a pathway through our senses to touch the heart. Most were not well known outside the world of classical music lovers – only occasionally did a Caruso raise his head above the parapet to become a household name. Then along came the three tenors and [...]
Once regarded as one of the world’s great pianists Joyce Hatto’s recordings have now been revealed as fakes.
I have always been concerned at attempts to use classical music as a weapon against young people but, according to this story from The Daily Record, it seems I might have worried too much…. Shop bosses in Scotland tried to use classical music to drive off a gang of teenagers hanging around outside their door – [...]
I have known Copland’s Appalachian Spring for nearly forty years but it was only recently that I discovered it was originally scored for a chamber ensemble of thirteen instruments, the largest orchestra that could be accommodated in the pit of the theatre at the Library of Congress where it was first performed. Appalachian Spring was created for choreographer and [...]
Nicholas Maw dies at age 73.
The Chair of the Arts Council with a controversial take on musical education