My first (real) Last Night

I was here the other night... Yep, Last Night of the Proms. Sneaky admission: I've been watching it on TV for decades, thinking about how amazing it must be to experience it. Last time I tried to go it was 2001, two days after 9/11, and the entire jamboree was ditched. This, though, was the real thing.

There's nothing else like it anywhere else, that's for sure. It may be crazy - it is crazy - but still, it felt like a true celebration of everything that we've experienced in that hall in the last two months, and of everything it stands for: great music for all, shared with love, open enthusiasm and absolute dedication.

There couldn't have been finer choices for the soloists. Nigel Kennedy, in case you wondered, is a truly mesmerising violinist. Nigel is Nigel and you take him as you find him: what other musician would trot on for the LNOP in a football shirt and carrying a cup of tea? Yet if his appearance bothers you, that's your problem, not his, because his playing is exquisite. The Lark Ascending was hushed, loving, sensitive, breathtaking. As for the Csardas, those who object to improvisatory interjections might do well to reflect that that is the genuine bit. Vittorio Monti is fake Gypsy music; Nigel improvising is the real thing. Nigel gets away with everything he gets away with - even bursting one of Marin's pink balloons with his bow - because he is a bloody incredible musician. Like it or lump it.

No sartorial questions over the divine Joyce DiDonato, who wore a blood-red Vivienne Westwood gown in the first half, and glittering peach in the second (left: curtain call), and delivered singing of such glory that it was a privilege to hear her, let alone sing along in 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. She dedicated Somewhere Over the Rainbow to the LGBT community "whose voices are being silenced" - handling this by explaining on social media beforehand rather than announcing from the platform, which I suspect will be the way of the future (nuff said...).

The whole evening was in fact a great celebration of inclusivity. Music was included from Handel to Anna Clyne. A woman (indeed, a gay woman) conducted the event for the first time ever, and judged the content of her speech to perfection. Bernstein's  Chichester Psalms are sung in Hebrew - and how beautiful they are, and how marvellous Iestyn Davies was as soloist. Nigel did his Gypsy improvisation alongside rare Brit composers Granville Bantock and George Lloyd (read about the astonishing story of that piece here). (Missed the sea shanties, though.) Verdi was there - the chorus of the Hebrew Slaves; and Wagner too - the overture to Die Meistersinger, the only one of his major operas that doesn't seem to have been bustin' out all over this year; and Britten, in The Building of the House and his arrangement of the national anthem to close.

What, then, of all those patriotic songs? Well, if you try to sing 'Land of Hope and Glory' but, for any reason, even if you are waving a flag (my nice Scottish neighbour, hedging her bets, had brought both, so she lent me the Union Jack), you just can't do the words properly given the reality outside the hall, it won't be noticed amid a crowd of 5000+ if you change them a teeny bit, in good and appropriate spirit, so... All together now:

"I LOVE EDWARD ELGAR,
HE'S THE MAN FOR ME!
HE'S OUR GREATEST COMPOSER
AS TONIGHT WE SEE..."

The important thing, though, is not the words. It's the singing. I believe I have tracked the magic of the Last Night, and it is not what we sing, but the fact that we do sing, and we all sing together, and we are the audience but we are joining in the concert ourselves, with the world's top musicians. And that's the ultimate in sharing music. And that, dear friends, is what the thrill of the Last Night is all about.

Over and out.

Some breaking news that's Rattling around...

A report in today's Times [£] suggests that Sir Simon Rattle "is understood to have accepted the job of principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra".

[UPDATE, 11:30: The LSO has responded on Twitter: "Morning all; thanks for all the tweets. We're delighted to have strong artistic projects with Sir Simon Rattle in forthcoming seasons …but as the article says, we have no further comment to make on the speculation that appeared in today's Times!"

So nothing is actually official. But no categoric denials per se... ]

If it is all true, it would be the following:

* Brilliant news for the LSO. Gergiev's name is a draw that would be difficult to follow;

* Brilliant news for London and the UK. Rattle is the most famous British conductor in the world, but has not previously held a London post. For the UK's top orchestra (which the LSO is - sorry, rest of you) to snaffle the UK's top conductor is a major snooker achievement. This sphere is often about timing, contracts, forward planning and, sometimes, a stroke of good fortune.

* Brilliant news for Rattle, we hope. He is much in tune with the British arts scene's pioneering activities in pushing the boundaries of repertoire, outreach, community and education alike, and the LSO, with its beautiful facilities at St Luke's, is perfectly set up for that. One senses that his innovations in Berlin may have been a bit of an uphill struggle at times.

* He has a fine track record of persuading people to do things, including the building of very good concert halls. See Birmingham. Guess what we need in London?

* If it is true, and mentions in The Times and BBC Radio 4 are normally pretty serious, it is much as I predicted in January. Everyone was asking why he was leaving and who the BP might appoint next; I wondered where Rattle could go from there (we didn't yet know that Gergiev was going to step down from the LSO); and by process of elimination.... => http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/features/sir-simon-rattle-and-the-berlin-philarmonic-is-this-great-relationship-ending-on-a-sour-note-8455762.html?origin=internalSearch


Meanwhile, on a much more modest scale...

If you like JDCMB, come to my concert! TOMORROW afternoon we are at the Musical Museum near Kew Bridge, west London.

You could view the museum's collection of musical curiosities, have lunch overlooking the river, then go on to enjoy the show in the Concert Hall. With your concert ticket you can get discounted entry (£3) to the museum, with a guided tour at 1pm. The  museum and cafe are open from 11 a.m.

SUNDAY 8 SEPTEMBER, 3PM

HUNGARIAN DANCES: the concert of the novel

with DAVID LE PAGE - VIOLIN, VIV McLEAN - PIANO, JESSICA DUCHEN - NARRATOR

The HUNGARIAN DANCES concert is great fun and is stuffed full of wonderful Hungarian and Gypsy-influenced repertoire, including Ravel's Tzigane, Bartok's Romanian Dances, gorgeous pieces by Vecsey, Dohnanyi and Kreisler, and much more. And the storytelling aspect of the performance means it's 500% accessible for first-time concert-goers.

Information: www.musicalmuseum.co.uk

* Tickets : BOX OFFICE:  020 8560 8108/HOUBENS BOOKSHOP: 020 8560 8108

or from Yvonne Evans 07889 399 862.

Next up: PenFro Book Festival, Rhosygilwen, Wales, on Thursday 12 September (with David Le Page, violin, & Anthony Hewitt, piano); and Bournemouth Arts Festival, Shelley Theatre, 26 September (with Jack Maguire, violin, and Barbara Henvest, piano). 

Fanfare for the uncommon woman conductor

Following that rather daft public row about Vassily Petrenko's alleged remarks re women conductors, I thought we'd do something constructive. I spent some of yesterday afternoon tweeting the names and websites of as many women conductors as I could think of. You all wrote in with suggestions and we ended up with a very fine list indeed. Special thanks to my doughty colleague Toby Deller, who also had the good sense to introduce a hashtag. [NB I am still updating the list below - plenty more of them! So please keep tweeting the missing links and keep checking back for our additions...]

(Above: JoAnn Falletta, music director of the Ulster Orchestra)

A few of the conclusions to draw here are as follows.

1. There are more women conductors than you think. People believe our dear Marin Alsop is the only one. She ain't.

2. They don't often get the important dates that will be reviewed. Some people want to blame us journalists for their lack of recognition, but with concert review space tighter than it has ever been in history, it is usually the "big gigs" that get the attention, and the women conductors - with the exception of Marin and the Last Night of the Proms - are not being given the big gigs.

3. The women conductors I know are heartily sick of being asked why there aren't more women conductors - mostly because there are.They would like, please, recognition first and foremost and, ideally, only for their work as musicians, regardless of gender...

4. [Update, 5 Sept, 13:49] I think that's what's emerging here, as the list steams on with well over 50 names and rising, is that there are plenty of women who are conductors, but one heck of a glass ceiling regarding where they work.

In no particular order, here's the march of the women.

Zoi Tsokanou. http://www.zoitsokanou.com
Was in Gustav Mahler Bamberg competition this year & Haitink masterclasses in Lucerne.

Monica Buckland Hofstetter http://www.buckland.ch/english/news.htm …
British-Swiss, currently in charge of conducting chorus & orchestra at the University of Dresden.

Jessica Cottis http://jessicacottis.com
Young Australian-British conductor whose name came up more often in suggestions on Twitter yesterday than anyone else's.

Anu Tali http://www.harrisonparrott.com/artist/profile/anu-tali …
Estonian suprema, music director of Sarasota Orchestra & Nordic Symphony Orchestra.

Julia Jones: http://www.oper-frankfurt.de/en/page652.cfm
Admired Brit, extremely well recognised in Germany, did Cosi at Covent Garden not so long ago.

Xian Zhang. http://www.harrisonparrott.com/artist/profile/xian-zhang …
I have loved the performances of hers that I've heard at ENO.

Simone Young http://www.simoneyoung.com/titel/
Extremely well-established, has been chief conductor at the Hamburg Opera (just leaving now).

Eve Queler http://www.evequeler.com
New York-based operatic expert.

JoAnn Falletta http://www.joannfalletta.com
Music director of the Ulster Orchestra.

Suzi Digby http://www.suzidigby.com/
That ultimate mover and shaker of choirs and galvaniser of community and youth music.

Nia Llewellyn Jones @niallewellynj
Young conductor fresh out of Cambridge, being nurtured by CBSO.

Jane Glover: http://www.janeglover.co.uk
Arch-Mozartian and author.

Sian Edwards http://www.ingpen.co.uk/artist/sian-edwards/ …
She is head of conducting at the Royal Academy of Music.

Susanna Malkki http://www.harrisonparrott.com/artist/profile/susanna-malkki …  
Much-admired principal conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Portugal: 

Alondra de la Parra http://alondradelaparra.com/  
Among much else, an official cultural ambassador for Mexican tourism.

Emmanuelle Haim http://www.leconcertdastree.fr/  
Extraordinary Baroque specialist from France.

Kelly Lovelady http://kellylovelady.com
From Australia, with an unforgettable name.

Odaline de la Martinez http://www.lorelt.co.uk/lontano/odaline.htm …
Founder of Lontano.

Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/mirga-grazinyte-tyla … 
Conducting 'fellow' at the LA Phil.

Kristiina Poska http://www.rbartists.at/en/dirigenten_dtl.php?id=486&TACookie=rv3a0901nslhali2lc4gai8035 …
Prizewinning Estonian who's been rising fast, not least via the Komische Oper, Berlin

Ewa Strusinska http://www.ewastrusinska.com  
Spent some time with the Halle and now works internationally from Poland 

Jeanne Lamon http://www.tafelmusik.org/about/orchestra/bios/jeanne-lamon … 
Baroque marvel, head of Tafelmusik

Sarah Ioannides http://sarahioannides.net/  
Born in Australia, grew up in the UK, now based in the US.

Tania Miller http://www.hughkaylor.com/Miller-Tania-Bio.html
 Music director of the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Canada

Claire Gibault http://clairegibault.fr/  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claire_Gibault …
Both conductor and MEP!

Barbara Hannigan http://www.barbarahannigan.com/
This extraordinary soprano, star of Benjamin's Written on Skin, is also a conductor.

Gemma New http://www.gemmanew.com/
Assistant conductor at New Jersey SO

Rebecca Miller http://www.rebeccamiller.net/
London-based US conductor

Alice Farnham http://www.alicefarnham.com/
Music director of Welsh National Youth Opera for Paul Bunyan this year

Akiko Ohtomo http://hokusaiorchestra.com/test/prof.html
Director of the Hokusai Orchestra (formed in 2010)

Anne Manson http://www.annemanson.com/
Among much else, she was the first woman to conduct at the Salzburg Festival

Yip Wing-Sie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yip_Wing-sie
Music director of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta

Sybille Werner http://www.ljova.com/sybille.htm
Mahler authority

Alicja Mounk http://www.dirigentinnen.de/1mounk.htm
A long and distinguished career

Holly Mathieson http://www.hollymathieson.com/
Young New Zealander, based in Berlin

Monique Krus http://401nederlandseoperas.nl/en/componisten/208-monique-krues.html
Dutch conductor, composer and soprano (site above doesn't mention the conducting, but she is recommended by a friend who saw her conduct last week)

Laurence Equilbey http://www.laurenceequilbey.com/
Fine French maestra, especially noted for opera. Another one for the appropriate-names department.

Jennifer Condon http://www.owlsnestopera.com.au/?page_id=6
Music director of the wonderfully-titled Owl's Nest Opera in Austalia

Karen Kamensek http://www.lewin-management.com/artists/18_Karen+Kamensek/englishbio
Music director of Staatstheater Hannover

Carolyn Watson http://www.carolyn-watson.com/biog.html
Orchestra director, Interlochen Arts Academy

Han-Na Chang http://www.harrisonparrott.com/artist/profile/han-na-chang
She's the most fabulous cellist and now she's become a conductor!

Mei-Anne Chen http://meiannchen.com/
Music director of Chicago Sinfonietta and Memphis Symphony

Joana Carneiro http://imgartists.com/artist/joana_carneiro
Music director, Berkeley Symphony

Amy Bebbington http://www.amybebbington.co.uk/4.html
Choral specialist

Laura Jackson http://www.laurajackson.net/web/home.aspx
Music director, Reno Philharmonic

Catherine Winnes Trevino http://www.kmh.se/cathrine-winnes-trevino-ny-chefdirigent-f%C3%B6r-%C3%B6stg%C3%B6ta-bl%C3%A5sarsymfoniker1
Norwegian maestra - sites in Norwegian

Halldis Rønning http://www.harmonien.no/default.aspx?pageId=33
Assistant conductor, Bergen Philharmonic

Carolyn Kuan http://www.hartfordsymphony.org/about/music-director/
Music director, Hartford Symphony

Matilda Hofman http://www.esm.rochester.edu/iml/spotlight/spotlight_may_2008_hoffman.php
Music director, Diablo Symphony, California

Nicolette Fraillon http://www.australianballet.com.au/about_us/artistic_staff/nicolette_fraillon
Music director & chief conductor of Australian Ballet

Sarah Grace Williams http://www.sarahgracewilliams.com/
Chief conductor & artistic director, The Metropolitan Orchestra, Sydney

Speranza Scappucci http://www.icartists.co.uk/artists/speranza-scappucci
Is opening the forthcoming Scottish Opera season with Don Giovanni

Susan Hollingworth http://www.sinenom.com/bio.html
Conductor of Sine Nomine Choir and much more

Sarah Baldock http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Baldock
Master of the choristers & organist at Chichester Cathedral. One of the first women ever to be appointed at one.

Katherine Dienes-Williams http://www.katherinedienes.com/KD/Welcome.html
Master of the choristers & organist at Guildford Cathedral (see above)

Sarah Macdonald http://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/chapel/People/
Director of Music in Chapel, Selwyn College, Cambridge.

Kim Diehnelt http://www.kimdiehnelt.com/
Music director & chief conductor, Northwest Symphony Orchestra, US

Jeri Lynne Johnson http://www.jerilynnejohnson.com/web/home.aspx
Founder & conductor, Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, US

Isabelle Ruf-Weber http://www.dirigentinnen.de/1rufwe.htm
German conductor based in Baden-Wurttemberg

Sinead Hayes http://www.sineadhayes.com/
Young Irish conductor who opened the RTE Concert Orchestra's summer lunchtime concert series.

Roberta Peroni http://www.linkedin.com/pub/roberta-peroni/28/44b/58a 
Conductor & chorus manager in Bari, Italy.

Talia Ilan http://www.taliailan.com/bio.aspx
Music director of the Israel Stage Orchestra & guest conductor with many Israeli orchestras.

Ewa Michnik http://www.opera.wroclaw.pl/1/index.php?lang=_pl&page=4&perf_id=1
Director, Opera Wroclaw, Poland.

Eun Sun Kim http://www.lewin-management.com/artists/19_Eun+Sun+Kim/englishbio
Is conducting Die Fledermaus at ENO this season.

Maja Matelska http://majametelska.com/en/
Polish conductor, has scooped quite a few competition prizes.

Marzena Diakun http://diakun.com/en/biography/
Polish, winner of 2nd prize in last year's Fitelberg Competition, and highly recommended by one of my colleagues who's in the know.

Gisele Ben-Dor http://www.giseleben-dor.com/
Israeli conductor laureate of Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra

Victoria Bond http://victoriabond.com/
American composer and conductor. Her website says she has been staying in the guest flat at Brahms's house near Baden-Baden (this has long been my own aspiration!) and writing an opera about Clara Schumann.

Rei Hotada http://reihotoda.com
Has been assistant conductor at the Dallas Symphony and has been making important debuts around the US & Canada this season.

Sarah Hicks http://sarahhicksconductor.com/web/bio.aspx
Staff conductor at the Curtis Institute, Philadelphia, among much else.

Anna Skryleva http://www.annaskryleva.com/annaskryleva/Home.html
Russian, has been working in some fine German opera houses including Karlsruhe & Hamburg

Tara Simoncic http://www.greenwichsymphony.org/tara-simoncic-associate-conductor
Young American conductor, has been featured in the Guardian

Amelia LeClair http://www.brandeis.edu/wsrc/scholars/profiles/leclair.html
Scholar and early music choral conductor, based at Brandeis University

Nicole Paiement http://music.ucsc.edu/faculty/nicole-paiement
Director of Ensembles, University of California Santa Cruz.

Rosemary Thomson http://okanagansymphony.com/about/music-director/2997/
Music director, Okanagan Symphony.

Dalia Atlas http://www.dalia-atlas.com/Biography.html
From Haifa. Has recorded a lot of Bloch.

Graziella Contratto http://www.graziellacontratto.com/
Swiss conductor with a fine track record.

Jessica Gethin http://perthsymphony.com/2012/09/20/perth-symphony-orchestra/
Principal conductor of the Perth Symphony Orchestra, Australia

Carolin Nordmeyer http://www.theater-augsburg.de/content.php?backlink=L2NvbnRlbnQucGhwP25hdj0zNCZzdWI9MzYmL011c2lrdGhlYXRlci9FbnNlbWJsZS5odG1s&sel=1&mitID=240
Theater Augsburg, Germany

Alissa Firsova http://alissafirsova.com/
Multi-talented composer, conductor and pianist. Daughter of the composers Dimitri Smirnov and Elena Firsova.

Nathalie Stutzmann http://www.nathaliestutzmann.com/
The noted French mezzo-soprano is conducting as well. 

Andrea Quinn http://www.andreaquinn.com/
British conductor, now based in the US. Was chief conductor at New York City Ballet, then at Norrlands Operan, Sweden.

Anne Marie Granau http://www.linkedin.com/in/annemariegranau
Chorus master at Royal Danish Opera, Copenhagen

Silvia Sanz Torre http://www.silviasanz.com/silviasanz/index.php
Spanish conductor - intrigued to see she has conducted rare Albeniz opera The Magic Opal.

Kate Tamarkin http://www.ktamarkin.com/ktprofile.htm
Music director, Charlottesville and Univesity Symphony Orchestra, Charlottesville, US

Natalia Luis-Bassa http://www.natalialuisbassa.blogspot.co.uk/
Venezuelan conductor in the UK. Hit headlines a few years ago by walking out on the Huddersfield Philharmonic due to interpersonal problems with players being "disrespectful". Was a mentor in BBC's Maestro series. Teaches at RCM.

Sarah Tenant-Flowers http://www.tenantflowers.co.uk/
Choral conductor, UK, teacher, animateur - and also a mentor on Maestro.
 


SO, ARE YOU STILL GOING TO ASK WHY THERE ARE NO WOMEN CONDUCTORS?
Didn't think so. Ask instead why we do not hear them more often. 

(Oh, and please, please, please stop throwing mud at Petrenko. Enough, already. Let's get some sense of proportion into this - many worse things are going on around us than that, and the chances are that he was joking/misquoted/manipulated for sensationalisation purposes, probably all three.)

A little celebration of insomnia?

Er, no, it's Nessun dorma ("None shall sleep"). Known affectionately among some aficionados as Nissan Dormer. Here is my little celebration of Puccini's last stand, to kick off Turandot at the Royal Opera House (opens Monday).

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/features/a-spellbinding-soundtrack-to-love-life-and-loss-8797000.html

And here, to prove the points, are a few samples of what's happened to the thing over the years.

1990 World Cup Grandstand (those were the days...)


Jackie Evancho (oh help)


And if you watched that, you've earned the real thing: Joseph Calleja at the Last Night of the Proms last year:

Meet the new New Generations

Very fine line-up for the BBC New Generation Artists' latest intake, announced yesterday evening. For 15 years BBC Radio 3 has been busy nurturing selected stars of the future on this scheme and they've often proved astute choices. Among those who've graced its portals are Benjamin Grosvenor, Alison Balsom, the Belcea String Quartet, Simon Trpceski, Khatia Buniatishvili and many more. The young musicians - already the bearers of fine track records - stay on the scheme for two years, during which time their concerts and broadcasts are very much in the spotlight. Here's the new bunch:

Danish String Quartet – String Quartet (Denmark)

In 2009 the Danish String Quartet not only won First Prize in the Eleventh London International String Quartet Competition, but their performance was so convincing that it was awarded four additional prizes: the 20th Century Prize, the Beethoven Prize, the Sidney Griller Award and the Menton Festival Prize. In January 2012 the quartet were appointed to the prestigious Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two programme beginning with the 2013-2014 season.  

(I've heard these guys, and they are terrific.)

Kitty Whately – Mezzo Soprano (UK) (pictured right)

Kitty Whately studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Royal College of Music International Opera School. Kitty was the winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award 2011 and the 59th Royal Overseas League Award for Singers, and in 2012 she was chosen to be a member of the prestigious Verbier Festival Academy in 2012. 

(Have been hearing rumbles about how excellent Kitty is for quite a while)

Olena Tokar - Soprano (Ukraine)

Soprano Olena Tokar was a finalist in the 2013 Cardiff Singer of the World competition. In 2012 she was awarded 1st Prizes both at the Lortzing Competition in Leipzig and at the renowned ARD International Music Competition in Munich. 

(Olena gave a wonderful performance in the Cardiff final and was a hot favourite for the prize.)

Lise Berthaud - Viola (France)

Lise Berthaud was a prize winner of the European Young Instrumentalists Competition in 2000 and won the Hindemith Prize at the Geneva International Competition in 2005. In 2009 she was short listed by the Victoires de la Musique Classique as “Révélation de l’Année” (Newcomer of the Year). 

(Hooray! A violist! Looking forward to hearing her.)

Louis Schwitzgebel – Piano (Switzerland) (pictured left)

Pianist Louis Schwitzgebel secured 2^nd prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition, where his performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Hallé Orchestra under Sir Mark Elder in the final round was broadcast live on BBC Four and BBC Radio 3. At the age of 17 he was the winner of the Geneva International Music Competition.

(We loved his performance in the Leeds final and are delighted to hear he's been picked here.)

Zhang Zuo - Piano (China)

Zhang Zuo has garnered a host of awards, including first prizes at the 3^rd Shanghai International Piano Competition, the 7^th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition, and a ‘Vendome Virtuoso’ award from Vendome Prize competition. In 2013 she won 5^th prize at the 2013 Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition. (Fine track record, that: again, looking forward greatly to hearing her.)

Nice work

Been here, reviewing.

As locations for music festivals go, it really ain't bad. This is Lake Lucerne, snapped from the shore at the bottom of Wagner's lawn at Tribschen. I spent a happy afternoon there, working on the revision of my new play Sins of the Fathers, which is set...um, at Tribschen. Pure coincidence, but nice. (The premiere, 24 November, is selling fast...)

I was really there to attend two concerts in the Lucerne Festival, one conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, the other by Jonathan Nott. Somewhat amused to see the heading "Viva la revolucion!" on the programmes. In Spanish. One concert was of Viennese and Russian music, the other was Wagner's Das Rheingold (part of Lucerne's first-ever Ring cycle). Few festivals have a less revolutionary atmosphere - the glorious lakeside and the wonderful acoustic of the KKL are populated by the sleek and meek of the moneyed festival circuit - but nevertheless, the programming is absolutely sterling and below the gleaming surface the waters are deep and fertile, especially where the Festival Academy is concerned. My review is out now in the Independent, here: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/classical-review-british-conductors-bring-the-sounds-of-revolution-to-the-lucerne-festival-8794619.html

Watch 'Don Pasquale' from Glyndebourne

It's a wet Sunday and - while not denigrating what I'm sure will be a fabulous Prom tonight - some of us have already seen Parsifal three times this year. So it's time for something cheery. The visually gorgeous, emotionally sophisticated production from Glyndebourne of Donizetti's Don Pasquale is just the ticket. Directed by Mariame Clément with designs by Julia Hansen, it plumps this masterpiece of bel canto tragicomedy into the heart of a world none too far from Dangerous Liaisons.

It does so by asking one vital question about the drama's essence: why is Dr Malatesta doing this? What's in it for him? Answer: he has a thing going with la bella Norina. Could it be that he's out to trick poor old Pasquale so that Norina can marry the sweet, wimpy Ernesto, be comfortably off and assure her future on the side with Malatesta, an arrangement which appears to suit both of them rather well?

Danielle de Niese stars as an irrepressible and satisfyingly complex Norina, kind-hearted yet determined, caring about Ernesto yet in sexual thrall to Malatesta. Vocally she is strong and colourful, infusing each whirl of coloratura with expressive purpose. Here, in the Independent the other week, she told me about why the bathroom scene presented a few challenges for the cinema relay...

Alessandro Corbelli is perfect as the duped Pasquale - and it is nice that he isn't left wholly in the lurch at the bittersweet conclusion. In the theatre,w hen I went there last week, Alek Schrader's Ernesto seemed beautiful in tone but a tad lacking in amplitude, while Nikolay Borchev as Malatesta proved a baritone full of suitable smoulder and streetwise assurance. Ernesto Mazzola - a glory of a bel canto conductor - creates an atmosphere satisfactorily replete with bubbles. And listen out for Kristine Blaumane's gorgeous cello solo.

It takes a lot to make a Glyndebourne audience clap a tableau upon curtain up; the all-white 18th-century chorus costumes did the trick last week. But - thought for the day here - wouldn't it be wonderful if productions that were not set in the distant past could sometimes produce the same effect? Intriguingly, I have just met and interviewed a cutting-edge opera director - more of whom very soon - who admitted to having a blind spot about bel canto. Chacun a son gout...

The opera is available to watch on the Guardian website, from which I have borrowed it, until 31 August.  

Off to Manchester

Please come to the Messiaen project at Chetham's Summer School for Pianists if you're in Manchester this evening! My talk is at 5pm, my play A Walk through the End of Time is at 7pm starring Dame Harriet Walter and Guy Paul, and the complete Quartet for the End of Time will be performed by pianist Kathryn Page and friends at 8.30pm. Do say hello if you're there. Box office: 07814 989913.

Stop dumbing down Debussy!

Google has a Clair de lune doodle to celebrate Claude Debussy's birthday today. Somehow I have the feeling that our beloved Claude's 151st anniversaire is receiving almost more attention than his 150th. I doubt, though, that he really did ride a pennyfarthing. (We know Chausson had a bicycle, but we wish that he hadn't.)

Here's a quick birthday high-horse moment: at some stage we need to leave behind, once and for all, the notion that Debussy was "an impressionist composer". He inclined more towards symbolism: the hushed world of ideas in which nothing can ever be taken at face value, but stands as an encapsulation of something else. La Mer, for instance, is at core not about the sea... Listen to Simon Rattle conducting it: this becomes clear, for is it not rather the deeper forces of nature within ourselves that are undergoing those changes of light as time passes, the dialogue with our counterparts (wind/waves - not), and the refulgent storms in the heart and blood...

Still, attaching any -ist or -ism to Debussy is to reduce him to a fraction of his real significance. Would you do that to Flaubert, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Zola? No fewer ideas exist within Debussy, but his language happens to be that of music...

The continual dumbing-down of Debussy - the all-too-widespread view of him as pretty impressionist, fine colourist, hot lover, etc - does not even begin to scratch the surface of his life and work, let alone his intelligence, his wide cultural references, his continual willingness to explore and experiment and move forward. His sophistication of thought, language, structure, finesse, texture, instrumentation and sheer imagination is second to none.

Meanwhile, our changing times are highlighted in fine fashion by a glimpse of this 1965 movie by Ken Russell, The Debussy Film. I doubt anyone would make a film like this now, yet there's a charm and a vividness about its vision that might just be irresistible, given half a chance. See it here: http://youtu.be/KsdAIYmSHAg.

And my top ten Debussy recordings? Difficult, but here's a selection...:

La Mer - Berliner Philharmoniker/Simon Rattle

Etudes pour piano - Mitsuko Uchida

Images pour piano - Zoltan Kocsis

Preludes pour piano, complete - Krystian Zimerman

Pelleas et Melisande, complete opera, DVD - Welsh National Opera/Pierre Boulez, directed by Peter Stein

String Quartet - Quatuor Ebene

Violin Sonata - Philippe Graffin (violin) and Claire Desert (piano) (in the disc that inspired my Hungarian Dances...)

3 Nocturnes, Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune, etc - various, conducted by Pierre Boulez

Children's Corner - Alfred Cortot

Songs - 'Clair de lune' (Verlaine) et al - Natalie Dessay (soprano), Philippe Cassard (piano)

Dame Harriet Walter and Guy Paul to star in A WALK THROUGH THE END OF TIME, Friday

[UPDATE: PLEASE NOTE NEW BOX OFFICE NUMBER BELOW....]
A quick alert for our friends in the north... Chetham's Piano Summer School, founded and directed by Chet's tireless head of piano, Murray McLachlan, is currently in full swing. On Friday I'm heading up there with the fabulous actors Dame Harriet Walter and Guy Paul for a performance of my Messiaen play, A Walk through the End of Time. (Pictured: Harriet in A Walk at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, in last year's International Wimbledon Music Festival.)

It's a big evening. We start at 5pm with me giving a talk about how and why I wrote it. The play begins at 7pm - it is about an hour long. Finally, at 8.30pm pianist Kathryn Page leads an expert team of soloists in a complete performance of Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time.

Contact Information
Tickets: £12 and £6 concessions. Free to summer school participants
Box Office Tel No:  07814 989913  
Email info@pianosummerschool.com

This is going to be a hectic autumn for JD, with a number of concerts of Hungarian Dances, and a brand-new Alicia's Gift words&music programme with the terrific Viv McLean (piano). Next up: we'll be at Houben's Bookshop, 2 Church Court, Richmond-upon-Thames, to talk about it all on 3 September at 6.30pm. Please join us for a chat, drinks & crunchies. Admission is free, but we'd love it if you'd book a place: to do so, please call Yvonne on 07889 399862. More concert & play details in the sidebar...

At the risk of being a bit predictable...

...here's JK making his new album of GV. You'll want to hear this, believe me, and you'll particularly want to hear the bit from Otello.



There's a moment near the start of the film where he clutches his phone rather pointedly. I reckon that's when a text arrived from his press agent saying "oh no, another message from that blasted English journalist begging us for an interview in Munich/Salzburg..." (Nah, just kidding... in fact they've all been really helpful, for which I'm grateful. But 0 interview for JD yet.)

I tried. I really did. But time was there none, it seems. More about Munich and the opera festival as soon as there's a little, er, time - of which I am very short at the moment too.

5 days left to help a musical hero

UPDATE, TUESDAY 20 AUG, 9.45am: THEY DID IT! THEY'VE MADE TARGET! A huge thank-you to all the doughty JDCMB readers who contributed both financially and by helping to spread the word.

The Orchestra of the Swan and conductor Kenneth Woods have over recent years set about recording four volumes of Hans Gál's symphonies, paired with Schumann's. The performances are terrific, with huge spirit and passion, and have been heartily well reviewed around the place. But while we were on holiday, conductor and orchestra launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £8,500 that they need to complete the cycle. So far, they have amassed slightly over a quarter of it. They have just five days to find the rest. Please visit their Indigogo page and help them! http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gal-schumann-symphonies/

Hans Gál is one of music's most scandalously undersung, underplayed, under-recognised good guys. I first saw his name as a child, as my dad had his admirable books on Schubert and Brahms - yet scarcely heard a note of his music until Leon McCawley recorded the piano works about ten years ago. Gál was a 20th-century individualist, working in a tonal idiom with a delightful quirkiness of soul that is often compared - with good reason - to that of Haydn.

He was enormously respected in Europe before the Second World War, but, being Jewish, was forced to flee with his young family, going first in 1933 from Mainz back to his native Vienna and later managing to move to the UK with the help of his friend Donald Francis Tovey, then professor of music at Edinburgh University; Tovey enlisted him to help catalogue the institution's new music library. Eventually Gál became professor at Edinburgh himself and lived in the city for the rest of his life.

More details about Gál, the project and what you get in return for becoming a donor, here.

Osipova & Vasiliev: How do they do that?

OK, you have 45 minutes to chat to the two most exciting ballet stars you have ever set eyes on. What are you going to ask them?



"How do you do that thing where you spin and spin and spin and then you slow it right down? Or those things in mid air where we just can't believe what we saw?" Not those precise words, perhaps, but something along those lines were uppermost in my thoughts when I went along to interview Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev, who are guest-starring here in London with the Bolshoi for one performance only on Friday. (Flames of Paris).

So, the answer? Technique, but not only technique, says Ivan: “When you put something into this technique, your spirit, you can do this. In rehearsals, you can’t. I can rehearse one thing, then go on stage and do it completely differently and absolutely more, and I don’t know how and I don’t know why. But something inside pushes me, like, ‘Come on, come on!’ And I say: ‘OK, come on...’”

The whole interview is out now in The Independent. Read it here.

The Corsaire pas de deux above shows their technical prowess off to perfection,  but it was their Giselle with the Mihailovsky Ballet a few months ago that left me in raptures - because the physical ability is matched with poetry, drama and psychological insight to the same level.

I'm just back from hols. Saw some rather good stuff in Munich. More of that soon.

A very spoilt opera lover's home thoughts from abroad

So last night, here in Munich, I heard Don Carlo with Jonas Kaufmann sounding perhaps the best I've ever heard him (and you know how good that is), Anja Harteros sounding like a platinum-plated Maria Callas only possibly better, Rene Pape sounding like King Marke as King Philip II and a baritone new to my radar, Ludovic Tezier, as Rodrigo sounding like a presence who will dominate his repertoire to very fabulous effect for years to come. How many great voices can you have on a stage at any one time? It occurs to one that - perhaps unusually for a Verdi performance - one could reassemble the same team for a certain thing by Wagner to fine effect, one named Tristan und Isolde...

But oh dearie dearie dear... I went and missed Barenboim's Gotterdammerung at the Proms, and today have been inundated with messages full of overjoy, overwhelmedness or plain old Schadenfreude from those who were there, or heard it on the radio, or who are calling for a Ring cycle to become a regular feature of the Proms, please, something I will second with all my heart (provided it's done by the right performers). After a 20-minute ovation, Barenboim made a speech declaring that what the audience had been through with him and his musicians was something he had never even dreamed of. Can't manage to embed the code for some reason, so please follow this link to hear it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01ddfdr

Extra plaudits for the Proms this year for having made me seriously question the wisdom of taking a summer holiday abroad while they're on.

Dragon-slayer: Lance Ryan IS Siegfried

Here's my write-up for the Indy of last night at the Proms, where things are turning seriously steamy in the Ring. A slightly less packed turnout for this one, perhaps because the temperatures in the hall have been in the news, but hey, there was more air for the rest of us as we rushed back for episode 3. If this is what happens in a Wagner anniversary, please can we have another next year? I mean, he'd have been 201 - isn't that worth celebrating too?

Shock confession: this is the first time I have actually enjoyed Siegfried. The first act can be heavy going and unless you have a top-notch chap in the title role, so can the rest. It needs to be done very, very, very well, all round, to succeed (at least where my ears are concerned). This one...just flew by, with laughter, tears and suitably raised consciousness. Where's it been all my life?

If you were wondering whether to go to Gotterdammerung on Sunday, but hesitated: stop thinking and just go. I can't, as I'll be in the only other place an opera buff (never mind critic) should be just now, which is in Munich, listening to Jonas in a spot of Verdi. But even with that to look forward to, I am sick as the proverbial parrot about missing the last night of this Ring cycle.

Left, Canadian Heldentenor Lance Ryan as Siegfried (not as he looked yesterday, of course). He simply owned the role and thus the evening.

Wagner would have loved his operas being done at the Proms: to a huge crowd of passionate enthusiasts in the arena who have come from far and wide for the occasion and pay just a fiver to get in. He wanted admission at Bayreuth to be free. It didn't prove very practical, of course, but that was the original idea.

Friday Historical Favourite Things: the voice of Fritz Wunderlich

Much as I love today's great tenors, I'm not sure there was ever anyone else quite like Fritz Wunderlich. Here he is singing Beethoven's An die Ferne Geliebte: a work much quoted by Schumann as a thinly coded message to Clara...and in more recent times by many others for the same reason. This post is dedicated to anyone who's ever missed someone.

Why do you play the violin?

Well, maybe you don't, yet - but you might when you hear why Simon Hewitt Jones and his ViolinSchool teachers and pupils do. This heart-warming film might just get some of us (or our kids) going along to try as well.

I learned the violin on and off until I was 18. I wasn't much good at it and have scarcely touched it since - but, come to think of it, there is still an instrument under the piano, waiting for a little attention...

The Violin School is just across the road from the St James Theatre (where much of this video was filmed), a short walk from Victoria Station.

Favourite things: Yuja Wang plays Flight of the Bumble Bee

I offer you this incredible performance by La Yuja partly because life feels ever so slightly like this piece of music right now. I don't know what Rimsky's bees are on, but whatever it is, I may need some. Fasten your seatbelts.

Die Walkure: a roof on the hoof

I've been to some incredible Proms in my time, but I think Barenboim's Die Walkure simply took the biscuit. Here's my review, from the Indy: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/classical-review-prom-15-die-walkre-daniel-barenboim-berlin-staatskapelle-8729734.html

Above, how the hall looked during the ovation last night (sort of).

Bristol calling

As a techno-twit, I've been trying to get my head around the dizzying digital heights of the Bristol Proms. Fascinating chats with Tom Morris, artistic director of the Bristol Old Vic and the brain behind the series; Max Hole, chairman of Universal, which is throwing its weight behind the series; and Clare Reddington, digital suprema of Bristol's Watershed. All in the Independent, right now.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/features/an-ear-to-the-future-bringing-classical-music-into-the-21stcentury-8728936.html

Meanwhile, here is my review of Barenboim's very steamy journey up the Rhine at the (London) Proms on Monday night, and I am just busy writing up last night's Die Walkure...

Friday Historical: Horowitz Live in London

This is Vladimir Horowitz's second-last recital in London, filmed live at the Royal Festival Hall in May 1982 (the last one was a week later. Thanks to my pianophile-in-chief consultant for the correction). He was not a well man by then, and apparently was on much medication, but the old magic is alive and well despite some slips; listen to the tone, the voicing, the variety of imagination, and a Polonaise-Fantaisie that certainly draws the tears from fanatics like me... And the way he plays the national anthem at the outset is a sliver of piano genius in itself, though this audience of 31 years ago stands to attention and doesn't applaud. (Prince Charles and co are in the royal box, not looking their most comfortable ever...).

The concert hall, which we see at the start, stands in grim concrete isolation in a lifeless area. It's a bit different today, happily.

The programme is:

Part I

01. God Save The Queen
02. Scarlatti Sonata in A flat major K127
03. Scarlatti Sonata in F minor K466
04. Scarlatti Sonata in F minor K184
05. Scarlatti Sonata in A major K101
06. Scarlatti Sonata in B minor K87
07. Scarlatti Sonata in E major K135
08. Chopin Polonaise-Fantaisie Op.61
09. Chopin Ballade No.1 Op.23
10. Horowitz talks about himself

Part II

01. Schumann Kinderszenen Op.15
02. Rachmaninov Piano Sonata No.2 Op.36
03. Chopin Waltz Op.69-1
04. Rachmaninov Polka de W.R.
05. Scriabin Etude Op.8-12

Favourite things: the Soweto String Quartet

Nelson Mandela is 95 today. This video shows the Soweto String Quartet playing at the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens in Cape Town and a vision of all its audience - young, old, black, white and much in between - loving the music and the dancing and the beauty of the landscape together.

Perhaps the last happy day I spent with my father was in this exquisite spot, back in 1996. He was already suffering from terminal cancer, but we had two weeks of quality time in South Africa, with the most beautiful outing of all at Kirstenbosch. He'd refused to go back to his native country while apartheid was in place, but after Mandela became president he started spending his winters there. I realised, seeing him then, that he'd missed it all his life.

I haven't been back. But heading home from central London latish in the evening, in the underpass from the Imax to Waterloo Station I frequently see a Rastafarian busker. He has a guitar, dreadlocks, a ready smile and a warm and generous voice. He often sings this song. I cannot tell you the number of times he's cheered me up with it, nor how many times - after an uninspiring performance somewhere that should have been better - I've thought it the most heart-warming music I've heard all evening.

If instruments could speak...

I've been having a little fun for Sinfini, "interviewing" two Stradivarius violins, the 'Gibson' (Josh Bell's) and the 'Messiah'; a Strad cello (Steven Isserlis's Marquis de Corberon); and Fritz Kreisler/Nikolaj Znaider's Guarneri del Gesu. If they could speak, is this what they'd tell us? Enjoy...

http://sinfinimusic.com/uk/features/2013/07/if-instruments-could-speak/

Favourite things... Philippe plays Chausson

It's hot out there. Trying to cool my study down for a hard day's writing with some lovely limpid Chausson: the Concert in D for violin, piano and string quartet, as recorded by Philippe Graffin, Pascal Devoyon and the Chilingirian Quartet (on Hyperion). It's a favourite thing in itself - I am potty about Chausson, yet we hear him in concert only once in the proverbial odd-hued moon - but another favourite thing therein is Philippe's violin tone and his feel for colour. Listen to the way he varies the nuance of the little rising figure that's repeated three times towards the end (around 3:44). Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.

Favourite things: Kaufmann sings 'Die schöne Müllerin'

The other day I was out for a walk in Richmond Park and I spotted a pair of shoes abandoned next to a Bächlein. While I doubt that Schubert or the young miller protagonist in this heart-rending song-cycle would actually have worn blue suede loafers (they're more Elvis, perhaps), I've had this music on the brain ever since. Who better to listen to than Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch?

Favourite things: Osipova and Vasiliev for 14 July

I feel so lucky to be around to watch Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev dance. This is the pas de deux from Flames of Paris (the Bolshoi's production, choreographed by Ratmansky), which the incredible pair will be dancing as guest artists just once in London - 16 August - when the Bolshoi comes to town.

Not long ago, I had the chance to meet them and ask: "How do you do that?" But you'll have to wait for the answer.

Meanwhile, happy "cattorze" Juillet from me and Solti.

Friday Historical: Ignaz Friedman plays Chopin

I'm "under the snow" for July as I have to finish a script as a matter of urgency. To keep things ticking over on JDCMB, I'm planning to offer you some extracts of music that are simply a few of my favourite things. This performance of Chopin's Nocturne in E flat, Op.55 No.2, recorded by Ignaz Friedman in 1936, is prime among them. Eloquent, flowing, gorgeously balanced between passion and finesse, and given with a tone of molten silver.

An article and some interesting links re Friedman from writer Benjamin Ivry, here.

A gift to remember

Last week I was lucky enough to be one of the adjudicators at Whitgift School's inaugural International Music Competition. This historic public school in Croydon - which has quadrangles, peacocks and wallabies on location, and amazing facilities all round, including a Fazioli grand piano - has started a contest in which exceptional young musicians have the chance to win full scholarships.

Please note that the intention is for this competition to be a regular event - and though the reach is international, the school would love to have more contestants from the UK!

A panel of the school's own dynamic musical leaders Rosanna Whitfield and Philip Winter and "external jurors" - violinists Ivo Stankov and Remus Azoitei, cellist Guy Johnston, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra development director Huw Davies and myself - listened entranced to a cavalcade of young talents from Romania, Moldova, Kosovo, Bulgaria and the UK, looking for three young string players whose lives are about to change...

The standard was quite extraordinary. Our three grand prize scholarship winners were eventually two candidates from the senior class and one from the middle. Dan-Iulian Drutac (17) from Moldova; Hristo Dunev (16) from Bulgaria; and Ion Mosneaga (15) from Moldova. Left, Guy Johnston, pianist Simon Lane and Ion Mosneaga at the reception after the prizewinners' concert. Ion, having excelled in his virtuoso repertoire, then astonished us even more with his mature and poetic Mozart G major Violin Concerto.

Right: team Kosovo, three youngsters who are working hard in testing circumstances to follow their dreams of becoming musicians. Cellist Arian Zherka (left) and violinists Arsim Gashi (the little one) and Bardh Lepaja touched our hearts very much with their natural musicianship and infectiously spirited playing.

In the meantime, Dan-Iulian joined the orchestra of Whitgift students, parents, music teachers and guest pros in the Dvorak 'New World' Symphony to close the event on a high. I've now found a Youtube video of him performing (in Moldova, about 18 months ago) the Vitali Chaconne, one of the pieces which won him the prize. Below.

I'd venture to hope that we found some young men of whom we'll be hearing a lot more in the future; and we want to encourage each and every one of the competitors to build on their experience at this competition, have faith in the irreplaceable combination of talent, hard work and big dreams and really apply themselves to fulfilling their very considerable potential. It was fabulous and a great privilege to meet and hear all of you and we wish you the very, very best for the future.

And here is Dan-Iulian Drutac (uploaded early in 2012):

Music meets football: Lara Melda plays for Street Child World Cup

Pianist Lara Melda, the 2010 BBC Young Musician of the Year (when she won she was still known as Lara Omerogu), is giving a concert at St James, Piccadilly, in support of Street Child World Cup, a UK-based charity supporting the rights of street children. The evening - tomorrow! - aims to raise awareness and funds for street children worldwide ahead of the second-ever Street Child World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in March 2014.

Lara is joined by 2012 BBC Young Musician of the Year keyboard finalist Martin Bartlett (piano), Martin Musical Fund prizewinner Harry Gilfillan (cello), and former Yehudi Menuhin student Tatiana Gilfillan (violin). Music includes Handel, Poulenc, Debussy, Saint-Saens, Chopin and Rachmaninov.

Lara says: “I believe that no child should have to live on the street and that is why I am delighted to use my music to highlight this fantastic cause. The Street Child World Cup is more than a game, it gives street children an international platform to demand their rights."

Book now at: 020 7381 0441.

Happy 21st, Benjamin Grosvenor!

That Andy Murray of British pianism, Benjamin Grosvenor, is 21 today. We wish him the happiest of happy birthdays and can't wait to hear the new album he's apparently recording right now, up in Suffolk. (PS - anyone spot Mitsuko Uchida in the slebs rows at the Wimbledon final yesterday?)

In the meantime, here he is in performance last year, playing Rachmaninov's Etude-Tableau Op.39 No.5.

On your feet! It's Proms time

The sun is shining, Andy Murray's in the final and next week it's time for the Proms to begin. This season is stuffed full of Wagner operas and I have just one word to start you off: footwear. My guide to how to make the most of the Proms is in today's Independent, along with my personal pick of ten unmissable events. And yes, there will be Korngold.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/on-your-feet-for-the-2013-proms-8687389.html

Jonas to the rescue!

The Munich Opera Festival, which is in full swing for July, is doing wall-to-wall Verdi and Wagner this year. Last night it was Lohengrin. The tenor went ill. Who can you get to replace that at short notice? Hmm, how about this local bloke who knows the role?

Text from my spy says simply: "Jonas sensation, audience went nuts."

Kaufmaniacs should log on tomorrow when the Staatsoper is webcasting Il trovatore, with JK as Manrico, a role he's just been singing for the first time, with Anja Harteros - another local - as Leonora. My spy says that's sounding a bit good too. Webcast is free and starts at 7pm over there (so 1 hr earlier in UK and 6 hrs earlier in NY).