Tag Archives: Richard Strauss

Opera at the V & A

I caught the V & A’s exhibition Opera: Power, Passion and Politics 10 days or so before it closed (which it has done now – sorry), and found it thought-provoking though not in the ‘unmissable’ category. The exhibitions centres on … Continue reading

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Hier ist Friede

If I want a fix of Second Viennese School round here, I’m most likely to get it over at the Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford. Over the years I’ve heard several performances, most recently from the Britten Sinfonia, who are … Continue reading

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Prom 44: Strauss, Elgar and Berlioz

I don’t think I’ve been in the Arena for a sell-out Prom before. I was sold my ticket with seconds to spare before I squeezed into the Arena. A popular programme, and I heard a fair few Australian accents in … Continue reading

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Prom 57: a sprint from Ely

Somehow I managed to get away after 4 p.m. evensong at Ely Cathedral, made it to the railway station, leapt onto another train at Cambridge and then arrived at the Albert Hall around 7 o’clock to be there for the … Continue reading

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Prom 66: Mahler’s 11th

One of my great regrets with regard to singing came back in 2002 when I was for a short time in the Cambridge University Musical Society (CUMS) chorus. Members were invited to join a performance of Mahler 8 later that … Continue reading

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LPs batch 23: the end of romanticism

This batch began with the second LP of Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances and overture My Home. Then a treasured disc of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf singing Strauss; we have been unable to agree on whether her performance of the Four Last Songs or … Continue reading

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Mozartfest 2008

We liked the programme for this year’s Mozartfest and got to four concerts. The Nash Ensemble just brought their string players this time. I enjoyed the Mozart (G minor string quintet) and Strauss (prelude to Capriccio) in the first half, … Continue reading

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Proms 60 and 66

My husband and daughter went to both of these. Prom 60 was the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra playing Also sprach Zarathustra and Sibelius 2. The verdict was that the Strauss was rather rambling but the Sibelius went down well. Prom … Continue reading

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through the night

We’re now rediscovering Radio 3’s Through the Night programming, now that we get woken in the small hours by Magnus (born Thursday March 24th). We listened to the programme regularly during the infancies of our older children so it will … Continue reading

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Ariadne in Advent

I felt it was about time to go to the opera again, and although the piece isn’t a favourite of mine I went to WNO’s Ariadne auf Naxos at the Bristol Hippodrome, that being what I could get to easily. … Continue reading

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