LISTENING TO TCHAIKOVSKY: Béla Hartmann uses his knowledge of Eastern Europe to argue against the banning of all Russian culture following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Classical music news - Fresh Perspectives - Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music celebrates its centenary season
Castaway - Peter King muses on the needs of the modern desert island recluse
Classical music news - Classical:Next 2025 - A large international conference for classical music professionals takes place in Berlin in May 2025
Ensemble. Finely Calibrated Shifts of Mood - Mike Wheeler celebrates Christmas with the Derby Concert Orchestra and its new principal conductor
Classical music news. Here We Are - Stephen Sondheim's last musical opens in London in 2025
Resounding Echoes by Robert McCarney - Heaven and Hell
Resounding Echoes by Robert McCarney - Play it again, Tom
Ensemble. An Exciting New Performance Space - Ron Bierman visits the newly restored Jacobs Music Center in San Diego
Ensemble. Impressively Sung - Ron Bierman listens to a song recital by Andrea Carroll and Joshua Guerrero, accompanied by Stephen Hopkins
Classical music news - April 2024 Obituaries - Our summary of those the classical music world has lost this month
Classical music news. Gurwitz Winners - Yungyung Guo, Tatiana Dorokhova and Young Sun Choi win medals at the 2024 Gurwitz International Piano Competition
Allan Rae: 5 Concerti - Richard Meszto introduces five works, referencing, in particular, the vast landscapes of Canada
Ensemble. Innocence Leading to Empathy - Ron Bierman experiences the mariachi opera 'The Miracle of Remembering'
Classical music news - Ben Glassberg - British conductor Ben Glassberg will become Music Director of Volksoper Wien in January 2024
CD Spotlight. Rethinking First Impressions - John Dante Prevedini listens to piano music by Mexican composer José F Vásquez. '... we are urged by releases like this to rethink our approach to composers like Vásquez ...'
CD Spotlight. A Particular Mexican Sensibility - Paul Sarcich is impressed by Mexican music recorded by Mr McFall's Chamber. '... a very interesting and well-presented disc.'
Echoes of Oblivion by Robert McCarney - The home country grown strange
CD Spotlight. Caruso 150 - Giuseppe Pennisi listens to Urania Records' new Caruso tribute album. 'One of the first major singing talents to be commercially recorded ...'
Profile. Fascination with the Macabre - Ron Bierman talks to opera composer Nicolas Reveles
Echoes of Oblivion by Robert McCarney - Four by Four by Five fff
Ensemble. Total Immersion - Ron Bierman listens to Anne Akiko Meyers, Domingo Hindoyan and the San Diego Symphony
Ensemble. Charm, Skill and Versatility - Ron Bierman listens to Isabel Leonard and Pablo Sáinz-Villegas in festive mood
Ensemble. On the Day of the Dead - Ron Bierman reports from San Diego on Gabriela Lena Frank's opera 'El último sueño de Frida y Diego'
Classical music news - February 2022 Obituaries - Our summary of those the classical music world has lost this month
Classical music news - January 2022 Obituaries - Our summary of those the classical music world lost this month
CD Spotlight. A Mexican Knees-up - A reconstructed seventeenth century Christmas in Mexico City, heard by Keith Bramich. '... the street ensemble is never far away.'
Classical music news - October and November 2021 Obituaries - Our summary of those the classical music world has lost this and last month
Classical music news. Paloma O'Shea Competition - Register by 18 October 2021 to take part in the 2022 Paloma O'Shea Santander International Piano Competition
CD Spotlight. The Depths of the Singular - John Dante Prevedini listens to Victoria Jordanova's 'Kernel & Grit'. '... musical storytelling ... can be about the creative potential of something as humble as an unwatered seed or a layer of dust.'
Profile. Serving the Larger Community - Ron Bierman talks to David Bennett, general director of the San Diego Opera Association
Classical music news - Notations - Oregon Symphony's latest digital series celebrates the connection between culture and music, spotlighting the diversity of Oregon's extraordinary musical landscape
Ensemble. Quietly Compelling - Two Buxton Festival concerts involving the guitar, reviewed by Mike Wheeler
Ensemble. Catching Up - Giuseppe Pennisi attends the final two concerts of the Musica d'Amare Festival in Rome
Ensemble. Three Divas - Maria Nockin reviews a streamed recital from Versailles, given by Ailyn Pérez, Nadine Sierra, Isabel Leonard, Vlad Iftinca and Pablo Sáinz-Villegas
CD Spotlight. A Real Adventure - Christmas in seventeenth century Mexico, conjured up by Siglo de Oro, Patrick Allies and friends, greatly impresses Keith Bramich. 'Siglo de Oro's performances here are superbly well-blended, joyously fresh and optimistic, seemingly flowing over and through the listener, sweeping them along in a stream of Mexican-tinged Renaissance splendour.'
Ensemble. Great Emphasis on Detail - Giuseppe Pennisi enjoys streamed performances of a Carmen double bill in Rome
Ensemble. A Delightful Morning - Diana Damrau and Joseph Calleja sing live from Caserta in Italy as part of Met Stars Live in Concert, experienced by Maria Nockin
Classical music news - Eleonora Perretta - A young Neapolitan guitarist wins the 2020 Mottola Guitar Competition in south-east Italy
CD Spotlight. Magic and Mystery - Gerald Fenech listens to music for guitar and orchestra played by Junhong Kuang, Darrell Ang and the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice. 'An attractive assortment of guitar music from both sides of the Atlantic, marvellously executed and recorded, with some well researched notes thrown in for good measure.'
Ensemble. Florence Rediscovers a Masterpiece - Giuseppe Pennisi listens to Gaspare Spontini's 'Fernand Cortez ou La Conquête du Mexique'
Ensemble. Tremendous and Sublime - Giuseppe Pennisi listens to Berlioz's 'Grande Messe des morts'
Classical music news. Plácido Domingo - The Spanish tenor has been accused of multiple sexual harrassment
Ensemble. Genuine Insights - Lizzie Ball and Morgan Szymanski at the Buxton Festival impress Mike Wheeler
Profile. Power and Agility - Ron Bierman talks to Cuban-American soprano Elaine Alvarez
CD Spotlight. American Flavours - Orchestral music by Aaron Copland impresses Gerald Fenech. 'Splendidly rousing playing from the Detroiters mercurially led by Leonard Slatkin, whose dedication to Copland's creations has a sense of purpose that is unerring throughout.'
Ensemble. Sensual and Immoral - A new production of 'Carmen' stirs a mini-International Controversy, by Giuseppe Pennisi
CD Spotlight. Agreeable Bounce - Quartetto Gelato's Musica Latina, welcomed by the late Howard Smith. '... high octane commitment to the entire programme.'
Ensemble. Wonderfully Amusing - Maria Nockin visits Mexico for Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore
CD Spotlight. Competent Performance - Music by Chávez, Moncayo and Zyman, heard by Andrew Schartmann. '... perhaps more important as a historical statement ...'
CD Spotlight. New Light - Music from eighteenth century Mexico, recommended by Gerald Fenech. 'A peach of a disc ...'
CD Spotlight. Light Colour - Orchestral music by José Elizondo and David Tanner, heard by Patric Standford. '... music for enjoyment ...'
CD Spotlight. Appealing Performances - Guitar music by Ponce and Tansman, heard by Patric Standford. '... a real pleasure ...'
DVD Spotlight. Seldom Equalled - Michelangeli plays Beethoven, Galuppi and Scarlatti, and impresses Howard Smith. 'His relentless perfectionism allows him spellbinding precision ...'
DVD Spotlight. Admirable Intentions - Gillian Rogell teaches chamber music, observed by Howard Smith. 'It's all fairly basic stuff ...'
CD Spotlight. A Choral Delight - The Antioch Chamber Ensemble, heard by Patric Standford. '... most valuable.'
Ensemble. Very Credible - Verdi's 'Il Trovatore' from New York Metropolitan Opera in HD, reviewed by Maria Nockin
Ensemble. Happy Melodies - Rossini's 'Il Turco in Italia' delights Maria Nockin
CD Spotlight. A Magnificent Celebration - Three Rodrigo guitar concertos, enjoyed by Robert Anderson. 'Alfonso Moreno is a superb protagonist, technically impeccable ...'
CD Spotlight. Poignant Sounds - String quartets by Peter Garland, heard by Patric Standford. '... remote and apparently disengaged ...'
Ensemble. Brisk and Powerful - 'Carmen' in Tucson, enjoyed by Maria Nockin
Heroes Step Up in Crisis - The Muti era lays claim to Chicago, by Barbara Sealock
Ensemble. Firmly in Period - Grange Park Opera's 'Madama Butterfly', reviewed by Robert Hugill
Profile. Encouraging Others - Maria Nockin talks to Stephen Costello and Ailyn Perez, the young couple singing Gounod's 'Romeo and Juliet' this month at San Diego Opera
Ensemble. Crystalline Lightness - A Symphony of the Americas concert, reviewed by Lawrence Budmen
CD Spotlight. Mice in the Manger - A selection of Christmas music, enjoyed by George Balcombe. '... an amazing collection.'
Ensemble. A Magical Week - Maria Nockin reports from Santa Fe
Ensemble. Thoroughly Enjoyable - An Arizona winter treat of Verdi's 'Aida', enjoyed by Maria Nockin
Ensemble. Shimmering Harmonies - San Diego Opera's 'Carmen' delighted Maria Nockin
What makes a conductor? - 'Conductors in Conversation' by Jeannine Wagar, reviewed by Kelly Ferjutz
The good kind of music - American composer Sean Hickey in conversation with Ted Kendall
CD Spotlight. Infectiously joyful - Choral music from the South American folk tradition, appreciated by Malcolm Tattersall. '... one of those rare discs which nearly everyone will like.'
Ensemble. Standing ovations - Rolando Villazón performs in Munich, appreciated by Tess Crebbin
Editor's Inbox - More readers' letters
Ensemble. New sounds and ideas - Malcolm Miller attends the first concert in the Park Lane Group's New Year Series 2005
Profile. It's in your blood - Tess Crebbin talks to Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon
CD Spotlight. Flexibility and beauty - Ramón Vargas sings Rossini and Donizetti arias, recommended by Ron Bierman. '... his singing is wonderfully musical.'
The next Domingo? - Tess Crebbin spotlights the young Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon
CD Spotlight. River spirits - The opera 'Florencia en el Amazonas' as recorded by Albany, appreciated by Maria Nockin. '... shimmering iridescent music ...'
CD Spotlight. Wonderful exuberance - A new release of music by Nancy Galbraith, recommended by Carson Cooman. '... music to be played and heard again and again.'