The CBSO’s experiments with concert experiences have done more than simply start a debate about mobile phones in concert auditoriums. They’ve exposed the anachronistic view the classical music industry has of itself, illustrating not only the need for change but the resistance that might prevent it. Estimated reading time: 13 minutes Back when I was an undergraduate, arts admin was pitched as a viable and possibly even attractive career choice for those of us for whom playing professionally didn’t attract or wasn’t an option. Being amongst music without actually making it, was an acceptable al ..read more

Based on my usual cursory late-night pre-launch browse of a leaked brochure, this collection doesn’t bring me out in hives like in recent years. So, that’s progress. The BBC Proms 2024 season has been announced revealing a mix of music, locations and UK and international artists and orchestras for audiences in the concert hall and on TV and radio. The 90-strong concert season runs from Friday 19 July to Saturday 14 September 2024. Musos will be pleased with the composer anniversary celebrations for Arnold Schoenberg, Ferruccio Busoni, Faure, Puccini, Stanford, and Smetana, a smaller sub-sectio ..read more

The CBSO’s experiments with the concert experience isn’t that big a deal. It’s an attempt at innovation. And they’ve clearly managed expectations. In November 2023 the CBSO announced some plans to experiment with concert experiences to create a ‘bold new vision for the CBSO’. New CEO Emma Stenning explained: “we are embarking on a journey and we want to hear from you, both in response to this document and the experience you have in our concerts over the coming 18 months.” It’s an interesting document, one that illustrates a team not only willing to think creatively and beyond the conventions o ..read more

A nod to writer Simon Brackenborough for pointing to this video of Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis performed by the BBC Symphony conducted by Andrew Davis whose death at the age of 80 was announced today. It’s unusual nowadays that everyone in the cultural sector/industry/interest group agrees on something, though it does appear so today. My feed has been full of tributes for Davis from musicians, administrators and audience members alike. I have no personal recollections of interacting with the man, though I did observe him from a distance at various rehearsals. There ..read more

Bottom line, if you want the profile, play the game. With everyone. Otherwise, eventually, no one will talk about you. At all. Early on in my career I learned that agreeing to an interview meant committing to turning up, on time, engaged, respectful and appreciative. Mostly it was the sense of commitment that dominated. A sort unwritten rule. I’ve been late on occasions, and on one awful day I even got my dates mixed up. Everyone was accommodating; I was consumed by shame. This year, there have been three interviewees who didn’t appear for an interview either on time or at all. One blamed the ..read more

Based on a fairly rough and ready comparison, Dresden Philharmonic’s Russian London programme of Mussorgsky, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky last night was the best orchestral concert I’ve heard in Cadogan Hall for a long long time. Possibly even ever. Last night the visiting orchestra demonstrated their agility in mastering the hall’s acoustic in the hall to create a musical event that had weight, depth and poignancy.    Soloist Maria loudenitch’s self-assured consistent tone played a critical role in this demanding work that takes in torment, anguish, intense introspection and fierce ..read more

Marsalis’s entertaining new work is exactly what classical needs right now In an audacious piece of pre-publicity, Alison Balsom – the soloist premiering Wynton Marsalis’s new trumpet concerto with the LSO in London said that she would over the next few weeks of performances “struggle to contain my excitement about this historic moment for my instrument.” It’s not difficult to see why. Marsalis’s latest concerto is a welcome return for the composer, building on the instantly likeable folksy violin concerto he wrote for Nicola Benedetti. The Marsalis trademark is evident here: appealing hooks ..read more

It’s been a while since I tuned in to Radio 3. I took a break last year, partly due to the BBC Singers’ saga, the Clive Myrie Proms Thing and a myriad of other things which left me thinking a bit alienated from the station. Stepping back has been refreshing. With Radio 3’s new lineup, there’s an opportunity to reassess. The old adage rings true: a change really is as good as a rest.  There’s a sense at the beginning of Tom Service’s first Saturday Morning show that Radio 3 is relaunching. Service’s show has a lightness to it which is appealing for the time of day its broadcast. At the sam ..read more

A Mongolian Emperor, two eager marketing executives, a misfit heir, a nun, and a bit of horseplay all come together in a jumbled depiction of Salieri’s rarely performed, sometimes crazy opera, ‘Cublai, gran kan de’ Tartari’. Penned in 1787 to a libretto by Giambattista Casti, Cublai is a comic opera with pertinent themes. Politics and culture collide in the tale of the culture-loving Kublai Khan, ruler of the Tartars, who awaits the arrival of Princess Alzima intended for marriage to his son Lipi. But, Lipi’s upbringing by Priest Posega has left Khan’s son at best naive – a seemingly problemat ..read more

Andrew Comden takes up the role vacated by Roger Wright in September 2024 Britten Pears Arts has appointed Andrew Comben as its new Chief Executive, effective September 2024. Comben will lead Britten Pears Arts, which encompasses the Aldeburgh Festival, the Britten Festival, Summer at Snape, the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme, and oversee retail operations at the Snape Maltings site. Comben brings extensive experience to the role, having previously managed the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme at Snape before joining Wigmore Hall as Head of Artistic Planning in 2003. His leadership at ..read more