“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...
Mahler, Symphony 9, Vänskä/Minnesota Orchestra
Music Review Mahler Symphony 9 / Osmo Vänskä / Minnesota Orchestra / BISThis is indeed an exceptional rendition of Mahler's 9th, distinguished, in large...
Review: Tár
Film review: Tár / Director: Todd Field / Released: 2022Tár is a film that's challenging to write about for many reasons, not least due...
Review: Nimrod Borenstein, Concerto for Piano & Orchestra, Light and Darkness,...
Review - Nimrod Borenstein, Concerto for Piano & Orchestra (Op. 91), Light and Darkness (Op. 80), Shirim (Op.94) / Clélia Iruzun (piano) / I...
Review: Dvorak Symphony 7, 8, 9 Dudamel / Los Angeles Philharmonic
Review - Dvorak Symphony 7, 8, 9, Gustavo Dudamel / Los Angeles Philharmonic / Deutsche GrammophonDvorak Symphonies 7, 8, 9 by Dudamel and the...
Review: Bruckner Symphony 8, Thielemann / Vienna Philharmonic
Review - Bruckner Symphony 8, Christian Thielemann / Vienna Philharmonic / Sony ClassicalThe booklet informs us that this is a captured live performance from...
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 workTrue, this has...
MS Slavic 7
Film review: MS Slavic 7 / Director: Sofia Bohdanowicz/ Released: 2019I 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: 20191917 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: 2019That 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) / BISThe High Arts Review Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★...
Parasite, Bong Joon-Ho
Film review – Title: Parasite / Director: Bong Joon-Ho / Released: 2019There seems to be something fundamentally odd with the decisions of major...
Mariss Jansons Obituary: a personal note
Mariss Jansons, a sculptor of soundsI 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 / PentatoneThe 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 ClassicsThe High Arts Review Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆This is an excellent...
