There is something dramatic about a single musician in the centre of the stage. There is also something intensely emotional at the core of Spanish and Latin music. In this…

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Anton Bruckner’s life and works are so opposite in their style, you wouldn’t believe they were in any way related. The grandiose symphonies, especially the Symphony No 7, nicknamed ‘Lyric’…

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Emily Beynon is stunning flautist who is Principal Flute of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. Originally from Wales, she returns to England to perform work with the BBC Symphony Orchestra…

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I feel like encores are the flavour at the moment. There are lots of albums coming out from all over the place featuring favourite encores of particular performers. It’s a…

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Marian is your everyday girl living through WWII. Only just 18 years old, she’s doing her bit by working for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) when a secret meeting…

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I always forget how many operas Verdi wrote, until I come across a little gem like this one. Written in the French tradition of Grand Opera, it’s original French libretto…

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I am unfamiliar with the works of Francesco Cilea however this opera, Adriana Lecouvreur captured my imagination almost straight away, being somewhat like the bio-pics of yesterday’s world, based upon…

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Conductors are odd beasts, they stand out the front of the orchestra and wave their arms and in the audience, you’re never quite sure what they’re doing. Mariss Jansons is…

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The sinuous, lilting ‘choreographic symphony’ Daphnis and Chloe by Maurice Ravel is considered one of the greatest works of the early 20th century. Ever present on concert hall stages, it’s…

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The more I hear from the Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin, the more respect I have for them. I have heard many of Frederick the Great’s flute works in the…

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