A terrific sense of collaboration: composer Colin Matthews and writer William Boyd on their first opera, A Visit to Friends
Updated: 2025-05-31 08:19:00
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: : , Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Saturday , 31 May 2025 A terrific sense of collaboration : composer Colin Matthews and writer William Boyd on their first opera , A Visit to Friends Labels : Aldeburgh interview William Boyd and Colin Mathews Photo : Mark Allan During his long career the composer Colin Matthews has been associated with several other composers , he assisted both Benjamin Britten and Imogen Holst at the Aldeburgh Festival , he and his brother David assisted Deryck Cooke on the completion of Mahler's Symphony No . 10 whilst more recent projects have seen Colin orchestrating Debussy . And since his orchestral Fourth Sonata written 1974–75 won the Scottish National Orchestra s Ian%20Ali%20Wright-28.jpg)
: : , Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Friday , 30 May 2025 Impressive debuts : Opera Holland Park's first Wagner opera , Der fliegende Holländer is something of a triumph Labels : Opera Holland Park opera review Wagner : Der fliegende Holländer Eleanor Dennis , Paul Carey Jones Opera Holland Park Photo : Ali Wright Wagner : Der fliegende Holländer Paul Carey Jones , Eleanor Dennis , Robert Winslade Anderson , Neal Cooper , Angharad Lyddon , Colin Judson , director : Julia Burbach , City of London Sinfonia , conductor : Peter Selwyn Opera Holland Park Reviewed 29 May 2025 The company's first venture into Wagner is a triumph , combining the mythic with the personal in a production that filled the
: : , , Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Friday , 30 May 2025 Something memorable : Jacqueline Stucker , David Bates La Nuova Musica in Handel's Alcina Rodelinda , plus Telemann at Wigmore Hall Labels : concert review Handel Wigmore Hall Jacqueline Stucker History's Lovers Telemann : nbsp Overture-Suite : Burlesque de Quixotte Handel : arias from Alcina Rodelinda Concerto Grosso in F op . 6 No . 9 Telemann : aria from Orpheus Jacqueline Stucker , La Nuova Musica , David Bates Wigmore Hall Reviewed 28 May 2025 Love , from the comic to the obsessive to the devoted to real vengeance . Handel and Telemann brought vividly alive in an evening that rose far above a greatest hits concert and gave us
: : Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Wednesday , 28 May 2025 William Morris : Chants for Socialists Labels : preview Until a friend gave me a leaflet for Strawberry Thieves Socialist Choir's event , William Morris : Chants for Socialists I had been completely unaware that William Morris , along with designing , writing and political activism , wrote music as well . The music was an extension of the political activism as Morris wrote chants' to go with the political songs that he wrote . nbsp On 31 May 2025 at 2.30pm , Strawberry Thieves Socialist Choir will be joined by singer songwriter Darren Hayman and Florence Boos , editor of the Morris Archive at the University of Iowa for an event devoted
: , : Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Wednesday , 28 May 2025 Bonis , Dyson Brahms : Madeleine Mitchell and friends at Leighton House Labels : preview Madeleine Mitchell violin , Julian Milford piano , Kirsten Jenson cello at Leighton House The trio of Madeleine Mitchell violin , Julian Milford piano , Kirsten Jenson cello are returning to Leighton House on Tuesday 24 June 2025 for a chamber concert that mixes a towering masterpiece with a selection of lesser known gems . They conclude the evening with Brahms' Piano Trio in B major , Op . 8 and precede this with works by Mel Bonis and George . Dyson Mélanie Hélène Bonis studied at the Paris Conservatoire with César Franck , where Debussy was a
: , , . Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Wednesday , 28 May 2025 The final concerts in this year’s Norfolk Norwich Festival fell to the BBC Singers and the Britten Sinfonia welcome visitors and , indeed , no strangers to the city . Labels : by Tony Cooper concert review Norfolk Norwich Cathedral Photo : JackPeasePhotography CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Britten : Hymn to the Virgin John Tavener : Hymn to the Mother of God Judith Weir : Ave Regina Cælorum James MacMillan : The Culham Motets O Virgo Prudentissima Palestrina : Missa Papae Marcelli BBC Singers , cond . Sir James MacMillan , Roman Catholic Cathedral , Norwich . Wagner : Siegfried Idyll Hummel : Trumpet Concerto Arvo Pärt : Fratres Beethoven :
: : Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Tuesday , 27 May 2025 The Atonement : Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's major choral work returns to Hereford as part of 2025 Three Choirs Festival Labels : preview The Three Choirs Festival is at Hereford this year , running from 26 July to 2 August 2025 with its familiar mix of large-scale choral concerts , chamber recitals , late-night events and family friendly programmes . The programme draws on not only the three cathedral choirs Hereford , Worcester and Gloucester but The Three Choirs Festival Chorus , drawn from auditioned amateur singers in and around Gloucester , Hereford and Worcester , the Three Choirs Festival Youth Choir for singers aged 14-25 and the
: : Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Tuesday , 27 May 2025 Powerful stuff : Opera North concludes its concert staging of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra with an evening filling the Royal Festival Hall with drama Labels : Opera North opera review South Bank Centre Verdi : Simon Boccanegra Roland Wood , Antony Hermus , Vazgen Gazaryan , Opera North Photo : James Glossop Verdi : Simon Boccanegra Roland Wood , Sara Cortolezzis , Andrés Presno , Vazgen Gazaryan , Mandla Mndebele , Richard Mosley-Evans , director : PJ Harris , conductor : Anthony Hermus : Opera North at Royal Festival Hall Reviewed 25 May 2025 A finely balanced cast create a very satisfying and compelling performance of one of Verdi's darkest
: : Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Saturday , 24 May 2025 Composer producer Eímear Noone joins RPO for Worlds of Fantasy : Video Games in Concert at Royal Albert Hall Labels : preview Eímear Noone Photo : Andy Paradise Last year I chatted to composer Eímear Noone about writing for video games , films and TV in advance of her Video Games in Concert tour with the Heritage Orchestra see my interview What about blowing the box to pieces' Now she returns to the Royal Albert Hall on 4 June 2025 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra RPO for Worlds of Fantasy : Video Games in Concert and they are joined by vocalist Aisling McGlynn and the Crouch End Festival . Chorus This event continues the RPO’s
: : Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Saturday , 24 May 2025 Something juicy that you can get your teeth into : composer Libby Croad chats about The Brontë Suite which gets its UK premiere next month Labels : interview preview Libby Croad Photo : Alexander Barnes On Sunday 22 June 2025, Brighton Festival Chorus and City of London Sinfonia join forces at Cadogan Hall under the baton on James Morgan for a concert that features Duruflé’s Requiem Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending with violinist Alexandra Wood and Fantasia on Greensleeves plus the UK premiere of British composer Libby Croad s The Brontë . Suite Libby wrote The Brontë Suite in January 2024, she was on sabbatical and as she loved the
: Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Wednesday , 21 May 2025 The Lost Music of Auschwitz Labels : preview The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum has a collection of music manuscripts written , arranged and performed by the prisoners themselves . Damaged , complete and often overlooked , composer and conductor Leo Geyer has been working with the museum , survivors and historians to bring the music back to life . The results have been presented on a Sky Arts documentary see YouTube and BBC Radio 4 programme available on the BBC website Now , Geyer's company Constella Music will be presenting a staging of the music in The Lost Music of Auschwitz with choreography by Claudia Schreier , designs by Finlay Jenner
: : Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Wednesday , 21 May 2025 Celebrating an icon : Argentinian bandoneonist Dino Saluzzi celebrates his 90th birthday with a new single on ECM Records Labels : spotlight Yesterday 20 May 2025 Argentinian bandoneonist Dino Saluzzi celebrated his 90th birthday . A long time collaborator with ECM records his discography is here the label has released the first track from his upcoming album El Viejo Caminante album release 11 July El Viejo Caminante' translates as The Old Wanderer’ , and Dino Saluzzi is joined by his son José María Saluzzi who first recorded with his father , at the age of thirteen , as drummer on Mojotoro on classical guitar and Norwegian jazz
: : , Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Wednesday , 21 May 2025 Colour imagination : Rameau's Pigmalion plus music from Les Boréades , Early Opera Company at Temple Music Labels : opera review Temple Music Rameau : Suite from Les Boréades Pigmalion Samuel Boden , Rachel Redmond , Jessica Cale , Lauren Lodge Campbell , Early Opera Company , Christian Curnyn Temple Music at Middle Temple Hall Reviewed 20 May 2025 An evening of Rameau in miniature dances from his final opera and his best one-act opera in performances that brought out the sheer variety , colour and imagination in the music Rameau's acte de ballet , Pigmalion is one of the best of his one-act pieces and provides a nicely digestible.jpg)
: : , , Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Tuesday , 20 May 2025 Echoes of war : Salomon Orchestra , Cathal Garvey Charlie Lovell-Jones in Walton , Britten Vaughan Williams Labels : preview SJSS This year is the 80th anniversary of the ending of World War Two , and organisations are finding a wide variety of ways to create events that reflect this . nbsp For their concert at Smith Square Hall on 14 June 2025, Salomon Orchestra are joined by conductor Cathal Garvey and violinist Charlie Lovell-Jones for three 20th century English works that resonate with the anniversary in different ways Walton's Orb and Sceptre Britten's Violin Concerto and Vaughan Williams' Symphony No . 3 A Pastoral . Symphony'
: : , , Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Tuesday , 20 May 2025 A near-perfect triptych : at Opéra Bastille , Paris , Christof Loy conjures atmosphere inspired by film for Puccini's Il Trittico conducted by Carlo Rizzi Labels : guest review opera review Paris Puccini : Gianni Schicchi Opéra Bastille Photo : Guergana Damianova OnP Puccini : Il Trittico Asmik Grigorian , Alexey Neklyudov , Misha Kiria , Enkelejda Shkoza , Joshua Guerrero , Roman Burdenko , Karita Mattila , director Christof Loy , conductor Carlo Rizzi Opéra Bastille , Paris Reviewed by Andreas Rey , 29 April 2025 An excellent evening . A near-perfect triptych . Our Paris correspondent enjoys Puccini's trilogy directed by Christof Loy.jpg)
: , : , , , Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Monday , 19 May 2025 English National Opera new season , new music director : Dead Man Walking , Mahoganny , Cenerentola , Albert Herring more Labels : ENO preview André de Ridder Courtesy of English National Opera Hugo Glendinning English National Opera's announcement of its 2025 26 season good news in itself , there is a season and it is far stronger than might have been anticipated has come along with the news that the company finally has a music director again . nbsp German conductor André de Ridder has been appointed as ENO music director with his first engagement as music director designate in February 2026. The good news is that the season
: : Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Monday , 19 May 2025 The fight to protect music and the arts in Norfolk’s schools : Anguish’s Educational Foundation Into Opera to explore solutions drive meaningful change Labels : music education Norfolk Bizet : Carmen Norfolk Into Opera Festival 2023 Photo : Richard Hubert Smith As Norfolk's primary schools grapple with an escalating crisis in arts education funding , Anguish’s Educational Foundation and Into Opera are inviting local stakeholders , educators , philanthropists , trusts , foundations , and advocates for creative learning to a pivotal event in Norwich on Friday 23 May 2025 at The Auditorium in the Forum , Norwich to explore solutions and drive
: . Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Monday , 19 May 2025 Music on a summer’s day . How lovely Avid Prommer Tony Cooper explores the 2025 BBC Proms Labels : BBC by Tony Cooper preview Proms Bliss' The Beatitudes performed in Coventry Cathedral for the first time , the building for which it was commissioned and written Orla Boylan soprano Andrew Kennedy tenor Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus , BBC Philharmonic , Paul Daniel conductor in 2012 The BBC Proms eight-week season features over 3000 artists and the first all-night’ Prom in almost half a century . Avid Prommer , Tony Cooper , reports on the world’s largest classical-music festival that helps to make summer . tick When the BBC Proms arrives ,%20Richard%20Marsham.jpg)
: : , Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Saturday , 17 May 2025 A carefully curated programme rather than a disc to dip into : Christopher Gray on his first disc with the Choir of St John's College , Cambridge Labels : interview Christopher Gray Photo : Richard Marsham Christopher Gray has been director of music at St John's College Cambridge since 2023. He was formerly director of music at Truro Cathedral and took over at St John's from Andrew Nethsingha now at Westminster Abbey During May 2025, Christopher's first recording with the choir is released on the St John's Cambridge label in conjunction with Signum Classics Lamentation Liberation features the premiere recording of Joanna Marsh s
: : Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Sunday , 11 May 2025 A Hoffmann to remember : Angela Denoke's production of Offenbach's final masterpiece at Oldenburg Staatstheater with Jason Kim Labels : Germany opera review Offenbach : The Tales of Hoffmann Dorothee Bienert , Jason Kim Oldenburgisches Staatstheater Offenbach : The Tales of Hoffmann Jason Kim , Dorothee Bienert , Penelope Kendros , Adréana Kraschewski , Raffaela Lintl , Eleonora Fabrizi , Seungweon Lee , dir : Angela Denoke cond : Vito Cristofaro Oldenburgisches Staatstheater , Oldenburg , Germany Reviewed 4 May 2025 A production that certainly punched above its weight , Angela Denoke Vito Cristofaro get so much right , with an ardent
: , , : Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Wednesday , 7 May 2025 Requiem A is much more influenced by Swans , Godspeed You Black Emperor , and Sigur Rós : composer Sven Helbig in his new Requiem A Labels : Guest Posting interview Premiere of Sven Helbig's Requiem A at the Dresdner Kreuzkirche Photo : Oliver Killig The composer Sven Helbig has been on my radar since at least 2013 when his disc Pocket Symphonies came out see my review and I saw him live in Hamburg at the Reeperbahn Festival that year see my review More recently he was one of the three composers to debut the Three Continents cello concerto created with composers Nico Muhly and Zhou Long at the 2019 Dresden Music Festival see my review
: , , , . Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Monday , 5 May 2025 Britten Sinfonia , Sinfonia Smith Square and the Choir of Merton College , Oxford , unite for a thrilling and exhilarating concert concluding with Olivier Messiaen’s Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum . Labels : Britten Sinfonia by Tony Cooper concert review SJSS Messiaen : Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum Britten Sinfonia , Sinfonia Smith Square , Nicholas Daniel St George's Cathedral , Southwark Photo : Britten Sinfonia Stravinsky : Symphonies of wind instruments Poulenc : Timor et tremor Vinea mea electa Tristis est anima mea Duruflé : Ubi caritas et amor Stravinsky : Mass Messiaen : Vocalise-etude O sacrum convivium Et
: : Pages Robert's Link Tree About Us Contact Us Twitter : RobertHugill Live reviews archive CD reviews archive Interviews archive Saturday , 3 May 2025 A conversation between similarities differences : Jonathan Sells on his disc of Bruckner Gesualdo with the Monteverdi Choir Labels : interview Jonathan Sells Photo : Paul Marc Mitchell In April , the Monteverdi Choir released a disc of motets by Bruckner and Gesualdo conducted by Jonathan Sells on the Soli Deo Gloria label . Recorded live in concert in October last year , this release marks the Monteverdi Choir’s 60th birthday and the 200th anniversary of Bruckner’s birth and represents Jonathan's first disc with the choir . Jonathan is perhaps best known as the artistic director of Solomon's Knot the conductor-less ensemble known for