“Sometimes the simplest things are the most profound. My job is to bring out in people & what they wouldn’t dare do themselves“
Review: Beethoven Symphony 7, Kirill Petrenko/Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Review - Beethoven Symphony 7, Berliner Philharmoniker / Kirill Petrenko (Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings)
It's always a pleasure to see new releases from the once-renowned Berlin...
Review: Dvorak Symphony 7, 8, 9 Dudamel / Los Angeles Philharmonic
Review - Dvorak Symphony 7, 8, 9, Gustavo Dudamel / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Deutsche Grammophon
Dvorak Symphonies 7, 8, 9 by Dudamel and the...
Review: Bruckner Symphony 8, Thielemann / Vienna Philharmonic
Review - Bruckner Symphony 8, Christian Thielemann / Vienna Philharmonic / Sony Classical
The High Arts Review Rating ★★★(★)☆
The booklet informs us that this is...
Review: Beethoven Symphonies (1-9), Christoph König / Solistes Européens Luxembourg
Review - Beethoven Symphonies 1-9, The Creatures of Prometheus Overture & Nos. 9 & 16, Coriolan Overture, Leonore Overture no. 3 (op. 72b), Fidelio...
Review: Beethoven Symphonies 1-9, Janowski / WDR
Review - Beethoven, Symphonies 1-9, Marek Janowski/WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln NDR Chor / Christian Elsner, Andreas Bauer Kanabas, Regine Hangler, Wiebke...
Midsummer Night’s Dream, Alexander Ekman
Midsummer Night’s Dream (2015) / Alexander Ekman (Choreography & set designs) / Royal Swedish Ballet / Mikael Karlsson (music)
An audacious stage work
True, this has...
MS Slavic 7
Film review: MS Slavic 7 / Director: Sofia Bohdanowicz/ Released: 2019
I have nothing but praise for this contemporary masterpiece which I discovered through MUBI....
Beethoven, Triple Concerto & Symphony 7 / Mutter, Yo-Yo Ma, Barenboim...
Music Review: Beethoven, Triple Concerto & Symphony 7 / Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin), Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Daniel Barenboim (piano & conductor) / West-Eastern Divan Orchestra...
“1917”, Sam Mendes
Film review: 1917 / Director: Sam Mendes / Released: 2019
1917 is one of those rare films that appear every once
in a while, to remind...
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Review: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood / Director: Quentin Tarantino / Released: 2019
That Tarantino is the creator of visually stunning set pieces is...
Best classical music albums of 2019
Like last year, here are my top picks for the best classical music albums released in 2019. These are presented in random order, except...
Review: Salonen, Cello Concerto, Yo-Yo Ma, LA Philharmonic
Review - Esa-Pekka Salonen, Cello Concerto / Yo-Yo Ma (cello) / Salonen (conductor) / LA Philharmonic / Sony Classical
“I imagined the solo cello line...
Review: Alkan, Symphony for Solo Piano & Concerto for Solo Piano,...
Music review - Alkan, Symphony for Solo Piano, Concerto for Solo Piano / Paul Wee (piano) / BIS
The High Arts Review Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★...
Parasite, Bong Joon-Ho
Film review – Title: Parasite / Director: Bong Joon-Ho / Released: 2019
There seems to be something fundamentally odd with the decisions of major...
Mariss Jansons Obituary: a personal note
Mariss Jansons, a sculptor of sounds
I can't, and I don’t wish to write a standard obituary for Mariss Jansons. His music has affected me...
Review: Beethoven, Symphony 5 & 6, Janowski/WDR
Review - Beethoven, Symphony 5 & 6, Marek Janowski/WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne / Pentatone
The High Arts Review Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
This new coupling...
Review: Beethoven, Symphonies 1 & 5, Ivan Fischer / Budapest Festival...
Review - Beethoven Symphony 1 & 5, Fischer, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Channel Classics
The High Arts Review Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
This is an excellent...
Beethoven, Symphony 9, Haitink / Bavarian RSO
Music review - Beethoven, Symphony 9, Bernard Haitink / Chor & Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Sally Matthews, soprano / Gerhild Romberger, alto /...
Joker, Todd Phillips
Film review - Title: Joker / Director: Todd Phillips / Released: 2019
“When Dalí and Buñuel made “L’Âge d’Or” (1930), they wanted to start a riot, and...
Album Review: Destination Rachmaninov – Arrival (Piano Concertos 1 & 3)...
Music Review Destination Rachmaninov - Arrival (Piano Concerto 1 & 3) - Daniil Trifonov / The Philadelphia Orchestra / Yanick Nézet-Séguin / Deutsche Grammophon
The...