Music
Music Of The Future Cannot Ignore The Past
Composers who try to create culture in a vacuum will struggle to be heard by a hostile public
Rattling About In The Philharmonie
The Berlin Philharmonic produced a discordant sound when it tried to elect a new chief conductor
Keys To A Pianistic Revolution
A startling new Hungarian grand is a postmodern marvel that would have delighted Liszt himself
The Light And The Dark
Sir Malcolm Arnold’s oeuvre, too often dismissed as “light” music, deserves rehabilitation
Is A Rattling Good Hall Needed?
Debates over the merits and value of new concert venues are raging in Paris, Munich and now London
Who Will Lead The Berlin Band?
Nervousness surrounds the search by the world’s most admired orchestra for a new chief conductor
An English Enthusiast
Reflections on the passing of beloved music critic Michael Kennedy
Nielsen the Inextinguishable
The elusive Dane is at last emerging from the shadow of his Finnish contemporary, Sibelius
An Unedifying Night at the Opera
The New York Met’s fudge over The Death of Klinghoffer uproar has left neither side satisfied
The Revolution is Over
Christopher Hogwood led a revival in early music but the movement died of self-inflicted wounds
Why Remoaners should back Boris
“Boris, ironically, now offers Remoaners the best chance of a soft Brexit, or at least a sensible one. And to those who want a second referendum—’the people’s vote’—there may even be a chance of that too.”
On the road
“In the summer of 1980, in the grip of some Kerouac-ish fantasy, I opted to hitch-hike from Laredo to New York”
Discovering the Great War of China
A third of a million Chinese labourers helped the Allies defeat the Kaiser, but their huge unsung contribution ended in betrayal