Two of the greatest concertos of the 21st century: clarinettist Julian Bliss on his new recording of Clarinet Concertos by Magnus Lindberg and Kalevi Aho

Julian Bliss (Photo: Rebecca Schelldorff)

Clarinettist Julian Bliss' latest album, which came out earlier this month on the Signum Classics label, features him as soloist in the clarinet concertos by Magnus Lindberg and Kalevi Aho, works Julian describes as two of the greatest concertos of the 21st century. For the disc, Julian was joined by conductor Taavi Oramo and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Born in Helsinki in 1958, Magnus Lindberg studied with Einojuhani Rautavaara and Paavo Heininen in Finland, Vinko Globokar and Gérard Grisey in Paris, while also attending Franco Donatoni’s classes in Siena. He composed his Clarinet Concerto in 2001-2. Kalevi Aho was born in Forssa in the south of Finland. He studied with Einojuhani Rautavaara in Finland and with Boris Blacher in Berlin. He wrote his concerto in 2005for Martin Fröst who premiered it with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conductor Osmo Vänskä.

Julian was very aware of both concertos before he recorded them; in fact, he is asked to play Lindberg's concerto quite a lot. Both concertos represent a challenge, with a lot of new things in them. But Julian points out that works which were regarded as a challenge when he was young, such as Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto, are now part of the mainstream repertoire. The way playing has developed over the years means that there is a lot of pushing of boundaries.

He admits that he has never heard a concerto quite like the Lindberg. Julian loves what he calls the 'big band orchestral sound' that Lindberg uses in the work, pointing out that often in clarinet concertos, composers use smaller forces so that they do not risk covering the instrument. In the Lindberg with its big orchestral sound, sometimes the soloist fights to be heard. Julian has performed the work a lot, and he loves it.

You Are Loved: Music for Change

On 10 October 2025, World Mental Health Day, some of London’s brightest queer artists will perform at St Giles Cripplegate to shine a spotlight on suicide and drug-related death crisis in the LGBTQ+ community in a charity concert You Are Loved - Music for Change.

Mr Gay Great Britain and mental health ambassador Andy Gardiner will present the show. There will be performances by London Gay Men’s Chorus, London Gay Symphony Orchestra, countertenor Andrew Watts, pianist Gavin Roberts (co-founder of Song in the City), baritone Kang Yang, countertenor Eliran Kadussi, mezzo-soprano Isobel Hughes, baritone Owain Gwynfryn (founder of Big Gay Out) and many more, along with live testimonials about mental health from members of the UK’s queer community.

Music for Change creators Big Gay Out and Song in The City will join the founder of You Are Loved on stage. You Are Loved exists to reduce deaths from suicide and drugs in the LGBT+ community. 

For the first time, rates of suicide and self-harm for people who identify as gay or lesbian, bisexual or another sexual orientation has been examined and revealed to be more than twice as high as for their heterosexual peers. Funds raised through Music for Change will enable You Are Loved to carry out their life-saving work across the queer community in the UK.

Full details and tickets from TicketTailor website.

A restless soul: Matthias Goerne & David Fray in late Schubert

Schubert with friends Johann Baptist Jenger & Anselm Huttenbrenner - Chalk drawing, 1827, by Josef Eduard Teltscher

Schubert: Schwanengesang, Piano Sonata in B flat D960; Matthias Goerne, David Fray; Wigmore Hall
Reviewed 9 September 2025

Matthias Goerne opens Wigmore Hall's new season with a remarkably intense account of Schubert's last song cycle paired with one of the late piano sonatas

Baritone Matthias Goerne was intended to open Wigmore Hall's 2025/26 season in recital with pianist Maria João Pires in a programme of late Schubert pairing Schwanengesang with the Impromptus. This was not to be, and on Tuesday 9 September Matthias Goerne was joined by pianist David Fray for a programme that paired Schwanengesang with Piano Sonata in B flat D960.

On the concert platform, Matthias Goerne proved to be a remarkably intense performer with a restlessness that seemed to suggest a need to express the music in movement as well as vocal gesture. Throughout his performance his body swung wildly from left to right, never fixing his eye on any one spot. There was little sense of operatic staging here and there were only a few moments when you might describe Goerne's performance as operatic. In fact, he had an admirable tendency to sing legato and emphasise a sense of line, somewhat remarkable in a singer whose operatic output stretches to Wagner. He also used the colours and timbres of his voice significantly to articulate the drama in the songs.

We last saw David Fray in 2024, coincidentally in a duet partnership in Schubert but then it was with pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja in a joyful rendering of the late Allegro in A minor at Lucerne's Le Piano Symphonique [see my review]. At Wigmore Hall, David Fray made a poised, sympathetic accompanist. Never imposing himself, Fray had a deceptively relaxed, fluid approach which hid a nervy attention to detail.

Fantasia: Matilda Lloyd & Richard Gowers launch their new disc with music by Richard Barnard, Roxanna Panufnik, Deborah Pritchard & Owain Park

Richard Barnard, Richard Gowers, Roxanna Panufnik, Matilda Lloyd, Deborah Pritchard, Owain Park at St George's Hanover Square for the launch of Fantasia (Photo: Dominik Zaczek)

In July, I met up with trumpeter Matilda Lloyd for a chat about her new disc with organist Richard Gowers, Fantasia on Chandos Records [see my interview, 'New challenge and new repertoire']. The disc is released next week (19 September) with two singles from the album already available.

On Monday 8 September 2025, there was a launch event for the disc at St George's Hanover Square (where Richard Gowers is the music director). At the event, Matilda Lloyd and Richard Gowers were joined by the four composers whose works are premiered on the disc, Roxanna Panufnik, Richard Barnard, Deborah Pritchard and Owain Park. It was a terrific opportunity to hear these pieces live and hear from the composers.

Lloyd and Gowers began with the intriguing sound world of trumpet and organ in the toccata from Bach's Toccata and Fugue BWV 565, the work which first gave Lloyd the idea for performing Baroque music with trumpet and organ back when she was at Junior Guildhall.

Richard Barnard explained that his piece, At the Borders of Sleep arose because he associated the word fantasia with fantasy which led him to the idea of falling asleep and the mind wandering to exotic places. And he commented that at his age (!) napping was important and the initial tune of the piece came to him like that. The initial melody was surprisingly jazzy, and Barnard then put it through its paces using a variety of different mutes (throughout the concert Matilda Lloyd used a selection of instruments and mutes), leading to a climax and then the music evaporating. 

Deborah Pritchard has been inspired by light recently. Her piece The light thereof was written for Matilda Lloyd and the Gesualdo Six for their 2024 disc Radiant Dawn on Hyperion (which also has a piece by Richard Barnard on it). 

For Matilda Lloyd's Fantasia album, Pritchard wrote Light Enkindled. taking the idea of fantasia towards improvisation. The opening saw the trumpet supported by spare sustained notes in the organ, something that Pritchard described as akin to using a piano sustaining pedal. When the organ did join the trumpet, the two had increasingly florid parts, some dazzling writing leading to a climax before evaporating.

Roxanna Panufnik's Echo uses both trumpet and its big brother, the flugelhorn. Panufnik explained that when writing instrumental music she liked to use a text or an image for inspiration. Here she used Christina Rosetti's poem Echo - 'Come to me in the silence of the night', with the piece written very like a song. The solo line contrasted the mellow flugelhorn with the higher, brighter trumpet, accompanied by an organ part that had a slightly exotic feel to it.

Matilda Lloyd has been collaborating with Owain Park and the Gesualdo Six since 2018, though she and Park go back as far as their university days. For his piece, Warm, hazy rain, Park explained that he wanted to capture an image, what it would feel and sound like - 'a person in transit during the summer months, perhaps gazing out of a train window or reminiscing about a leisurely bicycle ride through warm, misty country lanes'. Using the flugelhorn to create a gently lyrical solo which contrasted with the steady forward motion of the rather neo-Baroque organ writing.

We ended with more Baroque music, the bravura flourishes of Giovanni Battista Martini's Toccata.

Fantasia is available to order from a variety of music services - see http://lnk.to/CHAN20345

An album of intimacy: Palestrina 500 from Augsburg Cathedral Boys' Choir

Palestrina 500: Palestrina, Pierre de Manchicourt, William Byrd, Lassus, Victoria; Augsburger Domsingknaben, I Fedeli, Stefan Steinemann; ARS Produktion
Reviewed by Andreas Rey (7 September 2025)

A brotherhood in which noise would be replaced by silence, in which the soul would communicate with the soul, without noise, obligations, or outside crowds.

To mark the 500th birthday of Palestrina, this new disc on ARS Produktion from the Augsburg Cathedral Boys' Choir (Augsburger Domsingknaben) centres on the magnificent eight-part Missa Fratres ego enim accepi, which Palestrina created as an elaborate parody mass based on his motet of the same name. The mass was first published posthumously in 1601. Conducted by Stefan Steinemann, the boys and young men of the choir are joined by the period instruments of I Fedeli. 

The Augsburg Cathedral Boys' Choir is a relatively new choir with a long history. The tradition of a boys choir at Augsburg Cathedral dates back to the 15th century, but by the 1860s the choir was dissolved, to be replaced by a mixed voice choir. In its present form, the Augsburg Cathedral Boys' Choir dates back to 1976. In 2020, Stefan Steinemann became the youngest cathedral choirmaster in Germany, taking over the overall musical direction of Augsburg Cathedral and thus also the artistic direction of the Augsburg Cathedral Boys' Choir.

This is an album of intimacy, an album that is as much internal as it is coming from the inside, an album that is best listened to before dawn disturbs the unfolding of the intimate inner space with its noises, crowds, and obligations. The music of the encounter between the listener's universe and the night that surrounds him or her.

The Great English Anthem: Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea at the Chelsea History Festival

From 24 to 28 September 2025 it is the Chelsea History Festival with a wide range of activities at the National Army Museum, the Chelsea Physic Garden and the Royal Hospital Chelsea. On the opening evening, 24 September 2025, William Vann and the Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea will be giving a concert, The Great English Anthem. The evening is a chance to hear some favourite English anthems in two historic venues as the event begins in the Great Hall and moves on to the Wren Chapel.

The programme consists of music by Elgar, Gibbons, Handel, Holst, Parry, Purcell, Stanford and Vaughan Williams, along with Imogen Holst, Charles Wood, Samuel Sebastian Wesley and Janet Wheeler. It will include include Handel's Zadok the Priest and Parry's I was glad accompanied on the Wren Chapel’s organ (organist Mark Zang).

The Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea is a professional choir that sings Choral Matins in the Wren Chapel at the Royal Hospital Chelsea every Sunday at 11am and provides the music at carol services, weddings and other events at the Royal Hospital. The regular choir of 12 singers is enlarged for major concerts, such as this occasion.

The image on the flyer displayed here is part of Sebastiano Ricci's fine painting of the Resurrection in the half dome of the apse of the Chapel.

Further details from the Chelsea Pensioners website.

A focus on women composers and poets: London Song Festival returns

Nadia and Lili Boulenger, photographed in 1913.

Nigel Foster's London Song Festival returns next month for a season of 10 concerts exploring the work of women composers. As ever, the concerts are at Hinde Street Methodist Church and things kick off on 17 October with Nigel Foster being joined by mezzo-soprano Katie Bray and tenor Guy Cutting for songs and song cycles by Nadia and Lili Boulanger.

Then soprano Francesca Chiejina and mezzo-soprano Lea Shaw explore African American women composers and the struggle for Civil Rights with music by Florence Price, Brittney Elizabeth Boykin, Dorothy Rudd Moore, Margaret Bonds, Jacqueline Hairston, Betty Jackson King and Nkeiru Okoye, and by the Native American composer Martha Redbone. Music and words from Ethel Smyth and the Suffragettes are the subject of soprano Ella Taylor and mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts Dean's recital, 

Subsequent recitals examine the contribution made by women immigrants and refugees to the UK, celebrate of the life and loves of the American poet Sara Teasdale, and give us a taste of the vibrancy and joy of Latin America. Then there are songs from films and shows written by women, including Marguerite Monnot, Mary Rodgers, Amanda McBroom, Kristen Anderson, Dorothy Fields, Betty Comden, Carolyn Leigh, Marilyn Bergmann, Diane Warren, Barbra Streisand and Dolly Parton.

The poet Christina Rosetti is the focus for soprano Susan Bullock's recital with Janine Roebuck as speaker.  A performance of all 27 songs Debussy wrote for Marie-Blanche Vasnier, with whom he enjoyed a 7-year-long affair from the age of 18, will be presented by the winners of the 2024 London Song Festival Schubert Song Prize. Kitty Whately then joins Nigel Foster for Cross-Channel Currents, an overview of songs written in England and in France with words or music by women.    

Full details from the London Song Festival website. 

Making restitution: Sir Arthur Bliss' The Beatitudes returns to BBC Proms after a gap of 60 years

Bliss: The Beatitudes - Elizabeth Watts, Laurence Kilsby, 
BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, Sakari Oramo
BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC)

Ruth Gips: Death on the Pale Horse, Grieg: Piano Concerto, Bliss: The Beatitudes; Elizabeth Watts, Laurence Kilsby, Lukas Sternath, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Singers, Sakari Oramo; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 7 September 2025

Bliss' powerful war-inspired cantata, written for the consecration of Coventry Cathedral and Ruth Gips' 1943 tone-poem with Grieg's concerto as a somewhat unlikely make-weight

Some works recover from a disastrous premiere whilst others simply disappear. Sir Arthur Bliss' large-scale choral cantata The Beatitudes was written for the consecration of Coventry Cathedral in 1962 alongside Britten's War Requiem. Logistics (and perhaps a bit of politicking) meant the premiere of Bliss' piece being bumped to the unsatisfactory Belgrave Theatre. The Beatitudes was performed at the BBC Proms two years late in 1964, but it took until 2012 for it to be finally performed in Coventry Cathedral.

On Sunday 7 September 2025, Bliss' The Beatitudes returned to the BBC Proms alongside another British work arising from the Second World War, Ruth Gips' Death on a Pale Horse. Rather curiously, Grieg's Piano Concerto was sandwiched in the middle and at least one couple in the audience, having listened attentively to the Grieg seem to have decided that the Bliss was not worth returning for.

Sakari Oramo conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Chorus with Lukas Sternath as soloist in Grieg's Piano Concerto and soprano Elizabeth Watts and tenor Laurence Kilsby as soloists in Bliss' The Beatitudes.

Grieg: Piano Concerto - Lukas Stenrath, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo - BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC)

Angel of Peace: The Sixteen's 25th Choral Pilgrimage moves from the 12th century to the present day but it is early Tudor polyphony that stays in the memory

Angel of Peace: Hildegard of Bingen,  Arvo Pärt, Will Todd, Anna Clyne, John Taverner; The Sixteen, Harry Christophers, Sarah Sexton; Church of St Martin in the Fields
Reviewed 5 September 2025

The Sixteen's 25th Choral Pilgrimage mixes the contemporary with music from the 12th century, along with two great Marian antiphons that celebrate the florid music of the early Tudor church

The Sixteen's 2025 Choral Pilgrimage, Angel of Peace, has been wending its way around the country since they debuted the programme at Croydon Minster on 17 March. There will be 23 performances in all, ending on 4 October at Chichester Cathedral, along with eight associated choral workshops. Earlier this year I chatted to Harry Christophers about his approach to the Choral Pilgrimage and this year's programme. Read more in my interview, 'Everyone in the group feels strongly it'.

On Friday 5 September 2025 we caught Harry Christophers and The Sixteen in Angel of Peace at St Martin-in-the-Fields. The programme combines Hildegard of Bingen's Ave, Generosa, John Taverner's Gaude plurimum and O splendor gloriae, and Arvo Pärt's Tribute to Caesar, Da pacem Domine and Magnificat, with two contemporary pieces for choir and violin (Sarah Sexton), Will Todd's I shall be an angel of peace (from 2021) and Anna Clyne's Orbits which was a new commission by The Sixteen.

Each half began with verses from Hildegard of Bingen's Ave, Generosa and ended with one of John Taverner's large-scale antiphons. Will Todd and Anna Clyne's pieces formed the centrepiece of each half, paired with Arvo Pärt.

Conductors aren’t born, they’re forged! New choral conducting mentorship programme, Forge, launched

Conductors aren’t born, they’re forged. With this bold statement the Forge choral conducting mentorship has been launched. A mentoring programme for aspiring choral conductors, Forge has been founded by choral conductors Tori Longdon and Greg Beardsall.

Despite the remarkable number of choral conductors in the UK, only two British conservatoires provide postgraduate study for choral conductors, totalling fewer than seven available training places each year. A third programme, previously run by Birmingham University, was discontinued last year due to funding constraints.

As a result many choral conductors learn ‘on the job,’ without peer support or guidance. Any training that is available is either either limited to brief courses, or full-time Master’s programmes that are both costly and difficult to balance with a freelance career.

Forge is a fully online mentoring and development programme designed to support and sustain the choral tradition,  with a 30-week programme that gives aspiring conductors access to a roster of world-class mentors, all of whom teach at conservatoire level, in a flexible, affordable format. Each small cohort of twelve student conductors will meet weekly online to review rehearsal footage of one student working with their own choir, followed by a programme of seminars delivered by the mentor team which will deepen a wide range of leadership skills.

The current mentor team includes: Ben Parry (London Voices), Mariana Rosas (London Symphony Chorus), Anthony Trecek-King (Handel and Haydn Society), Jonas Rasmussen (Royal Academy Of Music, Arhus), Tracy Wong (Wilfrid Laurier University), Sanna Valvanne (Sing & Shine Choirs), and Felix Shuen (Diocesan Boys’ Choir Hong Kong).

Applications will open on the 1st October for courses starting in January, May and September.

Full details from the Forge website.

Music connects all of us, and people can create on all levels: RNS Moves to make its London debut

RNS Moves

RNS Moves, the ensemble made up of professional disabled musicians and non-disabled members of Royal Northern Sinfonia, will make its London debut on 21 September at Kings Place, performing a programme that brings together renaissance choral music, contemporary minimalism and modern experimental.

Improvisation and experimentation lie at the heart of the ensemble, and their performance at Kings Place will see them pair works by Caroline Shaw, Philip Glass, James MacMillan, Julius Eastman and Terry Riley with Tallis and Purcell.

Clarence Adoo MBE co-founded the ensemble after a life-altering car accident left him paralysed from the neck down, meaning he could no longer hold his position as trumpeter in Royal Northern Sinfonia.  Following the accident, German composer-come-inventor Rolf Gehlhaar was asked to create a bespoke instrument for Adoo so that he could continue to play music. The result was the Headspace - an innovative MIDI wind instrument controlled by breath and head movements. Alongside the Headspace, accessible instruments within the ensemble also include the LinnStrument  - a touch based expressive MIDI controller - played by Charlotte Bott. 

The ensemble works hard to promote that it doesn’t matter if someone has a disability – music connects all of us, and people can create on all levels. It meets at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music in Gateshead several times a year to collaborate and create. They invite inspiring and pioneering artists to join them, to bring new perspectives,

The 25/26 season will also see RNS Moves' collaboration with Candoco Dance Company and a new partnership at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. 

Further information from the Glasshouse website.

Britten Pears Arts has embarked on the first phase of a £13.8 million Capital Programme to upgrade facilities at Snape Maltings

Snape Maltings, Britten Pears  (Photo: Britten Pears Arts)

Arts organisation spends lots of money - that ought to be a common enough headline but in today's climate large-scale spending in the arts is becoming rarer. Which is why it is nice to be able to report that Britten Pears Arts has embarked on the first phase of a £13.8 million Capital Programme to upgrade facilities at Snape Maltings. 

Under architects De Matos Ryan, the Britten Pears Building which was originally converted in 1979 will be modernised, with revamped studio and performance spaces, a new lift and a more welcoming environment. Five larger music studios will be created, and all the technical facilities will be modernised.  A new upper floor learning facility will be created and the building will be thermally and acoustically insulated, part of Britten Pears Arts’ ongoing drive for more sustainable buildings.

This transformation will enable the expansion of the Britten Pears Arts Community and Creative Health programmes:

• Residencies which are currently oversubscribed, and the works will allow the organisation to work with more artists.
• Increased opportunities for Artist Development
• Expansion of Britten Pears Arts’ work with adults living with long-term health conditions including
• SkyLarks – Britten Pears Arts’ singing group for people living with Parkinson’s and their companions
• Participate – relaxed and fun music workshops for adults in Suffolk
• Increased activity for Families & Young people including
• Group A – Britten Pears Arts’ vocal initiative for young people in Suffolk
• Aldeburgh Young Musicians – creative and collaborative training for promising young musicians aged 10 – 18
• Mini Music Makers – fun sessions of music and play for 0 – 5 year olds
• Music Makers for 5 – 7 year olds and 8 – 11 year olds

In addition to the upgrades to the Britten Pears Building the Capital Programme includes:

• Work with the Alde and Ore Estuary Trust and East Suffolk Water Management Board to design a scheme to raise the Snape Maltings flood defences to ensure that the Snape Maltings site will be protected
• A series of upgrades to Snape Maltings Concert Hall to improve access, audience comfort, and programming flexibility and to reduce carbon emissions. There will be auditorium seating improvements, upgraded lighting, flexible acoustic baffles, an extra passenger lift, refurbished toilets and better kitchen facilities. Work is due to start in January 2027
• Significantly lowering carbon emissions by installing roof insulation, use of photovoltaic panels, and by connecting the music buildings to a renewable heating system
• Snape Rooms: As well as improvements to existing artist accommodation at Snape Maltings and in Aldeburgh, ten new bedrooms will be created at Snape Maltings for visiting musicians, arts practitioners and visitors. Work is due to start in early 2027
• There will be a new visitor exhibition at The Red House and a Discovery Centre at Snape Maltings, to tell the fascinating stories about the heritage sites

Full details from the Britten Pears Arts website.

BBC Proms: Two tempests, a fire and a swan, Thomas Adès conducts Sibelius, Gabriella Smith & his own music with BBC Symphony Orchestra

Gabriella Smith: Breathing Forests - James McVinnie, Thomas Adès, BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Proms (Photo: Andy Paradise/BBC)

Sibelius: The Swan of Tuonela, Gabriella Smith: Breathing Forests, Thomas Adès: Five Spells from The Tempest, Sibelius: The Tempest - Suite No. 1; James McVinnie, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Adès; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 2 September 2025

Mixing his own music with that of Sibelius and the UK premiere of a work written for the organ of the Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, Thomas Adès demonstrated a remarkable ear for creating sophisticated shifting palates of orchestral colour

When I spoke to organist James McVinnie last year [see my interview with him celebrating the Southbank Centre organ's 70th birthday], one of the works he mentioned was American composer Gabriella Smith's Breathing Forests so it was with great pleasure that we were able to catch McVinnie's performance in the UK premiere of the work at the BBC Proms.

At the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday 2 September 2025, Thomas Adès conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a programme that moved from Sibelius' The Swan of Tuonela to Gabriella Smith's Breathing Forests (with James McVinnie on the Royal Albert Hall organ), to Adès' own Five Spells from The Tempest and back to Sibelius with his The Tempest - Suite No. 1.

Up close & personal: Sir Willard White in folksongs, cabaret songs, Gerswhin & Sinatra in aid of Music in Action

If you enjoyed Sir Willard White's performance in Monday night's Prom [see my review] or perhaps you are regretting not seeing him, then later this month there is a chance to hear him up close and personal. On Saturday 27 September 2025, Sir Willard White is joining the Celoniatus Ensemble, artistic director Harriet Mackenzie, for a concert in aid of Music in Action at Magdalen College Chapel, Oxford.

The performance will mix popular folksongs, showtunes, Frank Sinatra and cabaret songs alongside a celebrated string orchestra and a sprinkling of surprises! Alongside a couple of English folksongs there will be Aaron Copland arrangements and Spirituals, plus music from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, along with Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and other Frank Sinatra standards!

The concert is in aid of the charity Music in Action which is at the forefront of outreach projects in Jersey. In 2024 over 5000 children and care home residents have taken part in the Music in Action outreach programme.

Full details from the Music in Action website.

BBC Proms: Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth from massed BBC & ENO forces but Amanda Majeski's Katerina triumphs

Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mstsensk - John Findon, Amanda Majeski, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Singers, ENO, John Storgårds - BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/ Andy Paradise)

Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mstsensk; Amanda Majeski, Brindley Sherratt, John Findon, Nicky Spence, director: Ruth Knight, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Singers, Chorus & Orchestra of ENO, conductor: John Storgårds; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 1 September 2025

Massed forces bring out the power and savagery of Shostakovich's score but it was Amanda Majeski in a masterly account of the title role who really triumphed

One of the strands in this year's BBC Proms has been the 50th anniversary of the death of Dmitri Shostakovich and Monday 1 September at the Royal Albert Hall saw what must be the large-scale centre piece of these, a collaboration between the BBC Philharmonic and English National Opera to present Shostakovich's 1936 opera, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in all its messy magnificence. 

John Storgårds conducted the BBC Philharmonic and the brass section of the Orchestra of English National Opera with the BBC Singers, and Chorus of English National Opera. Amanda Majeski was Katerina with Brindley Sherratt as Boris, John Findon as Zinovy, Nicky Spence as Sergey plus Thomas Mole, Ronald Samm, Alaric Green, Chuma Sijeqa, William Morgan, Willard White and Niamh O'Sullivan. The semi-staging was directed by Ruth Knight.

For all the operatic talent on stage, it was very much the orchestra which was the focus here. The huge forces of the BBC Philharmonic and brass of the ENO Orchestra - 60 strings, triple woodwind, five horns, eight brass, eight percussionists plus 15 players from ENO in the choir stalls - almost filled the stage. There was a narrow acting area at the front of the stage but Ruth Knight's production made the most of what was available so the the theatrical performance took place in front and behind of the orchestra. Dramatically this was highly imaginative, make the best use of the stage and present the opera with great clarity. Unfortunately, the Royal Albert Hall is not the most sympathetic of venues and placing much of the action at the back of the stage, behind the orchestra rather compromised the balance. And even when singers were at the front of the stage, Shostakovich's exuberant orchestration overbalanced things.

Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of Mstsensk - Amanda Majeski, Nicky Spence, BBC Philharmonic - BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/ Andy Paradise)

It was the orchestral performance that dominated. The opera, with its five orchestral interludes and strongly satirical writing (Shostakovich uses popular-style tunes to undercut some of the dramatic action) lent the whole a particularly savage feel. During the murder of Zinovy, Shostakovich writes jauntily for the orchestra but as rendered here by the massed forces on stage, the results were terrifying and causing Nicky Spence's (Sergey) dramatic efforts to strangle John Findon (Zinovy) to very much take second place in the drama. And there were moments when the grimly comic stage action seemed very much at odds with the savagely satirical writing in the orchestra.

Shifting Patterns: Scottish Ensemble opens 2025/26 fusing music by Anna Meredith and Henryk Górecki with animations by Ewan Jones Morris

Scottish Ensemble at Celtic Connections in January 2025 with Donald Grant and Friends (Photo: Tom Lovatt)

The Scottish Ensemble opens its 2025/2026 season with Shifting Patterns, a programme of music by Anna Meredith and Henryk Górecki which promises to be a striking fusion of sound and visuals. Touring to Eden Court in Inverness, Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall, Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh and Perth Concert Hall during October, the programme will explore the emotive power of sonic patterns being transformed through kaleidoscopic repetitions using bespoke projections by animator Ewan Jones Morris as a stunning visual backdrop to Anna Meredith’s works.

The programme features Henryk Górecki's Quasi una Fantasia. This work is the second of Górecki's three quartets, all of which were premiered by the Kronos Quartet. Quasi una Fantasia was written in 1991 and the work invokes Beethovenian parallels not just from the title but the composer acknowledged that Beethoven’s piano sonatas and string quartets had provided the impetus for his first two quartets.

The programme will also feature eight works by Anna Meredith including works for string quartet which have been newly arranged for the thirteen musicians of Scottish Ensemble, offering a chance to hear these surprising and enlightening works for expanded forces.

Taking a multidisciplinary approach to filmmaking, Ewan Jones Morris combines live action, collage, stop motion and CG to transform the ordinary and explore imagined inner worlds, you can explore his work on Vimeo (including a sample below)

Full details from the Scottish Ensemble's website.

Refuge: An Evening of Opera Exploring Women’s Experiences and Resilience

On 23 September 2025, soprano Lizzie Ryder is curating and performing in Refuge: An Evening of Opera Exploring Women’s Experiences and Resilience at the Brunel Museum's Thames Tunnel Shaft. 

The evening will feature sopranos Lizzie Ryder, Roberta Philip and Georgie Malcolm, mezzos Hannah Morley and Naomi Lidiard, tenor Matthew Curtis, actor Rachel Fletcher and pianist Panaretos Kyriatzidis in a concert in aid of Refuge, the UK charity supporting women and children experiencing domestic abuse.

The evening will features music from Puccini's Suor Angelica, Britten's Peter Grimes, Donizetti's Anna Bolena, Verdi's Otello, Mascagni's Cavallerie Rusticana, Bizet's Carmen, Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking and Missy Mazzoli's Breaking the Waves.

Set in this extraordinary underground space, the programme brings together scenes and arias that centre women’s voices-care, crisis and defiance, alongside brief spoken interludes. All profits will be donated to Refuge.

Further information and tickets from EventBrite.

BBC Proms: Rarely has large-scale Handel felt so vital & involving. Peter Whelan & the Irish Baroque Orchestra in the Dublin version of Alexander's Feast

Handel: Alexander's Feast - Hilary Cronin, Stuart Jackson, Peter Whelan, Irish Baroque Orchestra & Chorus - BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC)

Handel: Alexander's Feast (1742 version, modern premiere), Concerti a due cori; Hilary Cronin, Hugh Cutting, Stuart Jackson, Irish Baroque Orchestra & Chorus, Peter Whelan; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 30 August 2025

This was unashamedly Big Baroque with the Dublin version of Alexander's Feast where Peter Whelan drew a remarkably communicative and urgent performance from all his players.

Handel's Alexander's Feast tends to be something of an unsung gem amongst his oratorios, perhaps Dryden's text is somewhat too poetically diffuse for modern audiences to take to their heart but in the work Handel displays his masterly grasp of creating large scale structures by interweaving chorus, recitative and aria into something more. He wrote the work in 1736 as a result of a sustained campaign by his friends to get the composer setting some great English poets, a campaign that would lead to Handel's other Dryden and Milton settings.

Until this year, the work had only been performed twice at the BBC Proms, in 1964 and in 2006 (this latter performance in Mozart's re-orchestration). On Saturday 30 August for their first appearance at the BBC Proms (and only the second appearance ever of an ensemble from the Republic of Ireland), Peter Whelan and the Irish Baroque Orchestra chose to perform Handel's 1742 Dublin version of Alexander's Feast along with a selection of his Concerti a due cori. The orchestra was joined by the Irish Baroque Chorus and soloists soprano Hilary Cronin, alto Hugh Cutting and tenor Stuart Jackson.

When Handel visited Dublin in 1741 and 1742 he gave two subscription series which would include the premiere of Messiah and a serenata version of his last opera, Imeneo. He also planned on performing Alexander's Feast but a decree from the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Jonathan Swift, meant that Handel could no longer use the singing men from the cathedral. This meant that Alexander's Feast had to be adjusted. The result is structurally different from the 1736 version, with a third part, using text by Irish writer Newburgh Hamilton who had arranged Dryden's original, and solos rewritten for soprano Christina Avolio, alto Susannah Cibber (who was in Dublin avoiding a sex scandal in London and who made a big impression in the alto solos in Messiah) and tenor Callaghan McCarty who was a Dublin-based theatre singer.

Handel: Alexander's Feast - Irish Baroque Orchestra & Chorus - BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC)

As Peter Whelan explained to me when we chatted in July [see my interview, Spurred by the story-telling], he designed the performance partly for the Royal Albert Hall and this was certainly Big Baroque. We had a chorus of 40, and orchestra with 30 strings, four oboes, three bassoons and four horns. These latter looked and sounded pretty spectacular with their miles of tubing and highly characterful timbre. The continuo line-up included two harpsichords (one played by Whelan), two theorbos and organ.

Up close & personal: a pacey & vivid account of Mozart's Don Giovanni from Ensemble OrQuesta at the Grimeborn Festival

Mozart: Don Giovanni - Ensemble OrQuesta at Grimeborn Festival, Arcola Theatre
(Photo: Julian Guidera)

Mozart: Don Giovanni; Marcio da Silva, Flavio Lauria, Helen May, Rosemary Carlton-Willis, Anna-Luise Wagner, John Twitchen, director: Marcio da Silva, Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra Ensemble, conductor: Andreas Levisianos, Ensemble OrQuesta; Grimeborn Festival at the Arcola Theatre
Reviewed 29 August 2025

A compact chamber version of the opera, notable for its pacey drama and vividly vigorous individual performances

One week, two festivals, two Mozart operas in two very different venues. Following on from Glyndebourne's performance of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms [see my review], we caught Mozart's Don  Giovanni performed by Ensemble OrQuesta at the Arcola Theatre as part of the Grimeborn Festival where Ensemble OrQuesta has performed annually for the last six years.

On Friday 29 August 2025 we caught Mozart's Don Giovanni in the Arcola Theatre's large studio. The company originally performed Don Giovanni in 2017 and Marcio da Silva's production was revived and revised earlier this year at the the Cockpit. Ensemble OrQuesta's artistic director and founder Marcio da Silva both directed the show and performed the title role, with Flavio Lauria as Leporello, Helen May as Donna Elvira, Rosemary Carlton-Willis as Donna Anna, Anna-Luise Wagner as Zerlina, John Twitchen as Don Ottavio, Jay Rockwell as Masetto and Vedat Dalgiran as the Commendatore. Andreas Levisianos conducted an instrumental ensemble of eight drawn from the Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra (of which Marcio da Silva is founder and artistic director). Costumes were by Gil Jenks and puppets by Orlando Bishop.

Ensemble OrQuesta functions very much as a repertory company and all of the cast had performed a number of other roles with the company including last year's Le nozze di Figaro [see my review] and Handel's Alcina in 2022 [see my review]. The company's founder and artistic director Marcio da Silva is something of a Renaissance man, encompassing directing shows, conducting as well as singing. For this run of performances, having directed the show da Silva was alternating singing and conducting this meant that this evening's conductor, Andreas Levisianos, though he had worked with the company before, was only conducting this one performance which was not ideal.

The instrumental ensemble (string quartet, double bass, flute, clarinet and bassoon) took a little time to settle down. Andreas Levisianos's speeds in the overture were brisk and there were moments when we missed the sheer weight of a full orchestra, even though the players were admirably incisive. Levisianos also accompanied the recitatives on piano.

The version of the opera used was trimmed so that it lasted 160 minutes (including interval). We had the basic Prague version so no 'Mi tradi' for Donna Elvira, but more than that Don Ottavio got neither of his arias and Zerlina's 'Batti, batti' was omitted too. The ending did not hang around either and we ended with the Don's descent to Hell (cue red glow). The aim was to create a compact version of the drama which matched the intensity and pace of the performance. 

Mozart: Don Giovanni - Ensemble OrQuesta at Grimeborn Festival, Arcola Theatre (Photo: Julian Guidera)

The Glyndebourne Prom: Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro with a young cast on superb form

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - Huw Montague Rendall, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment - Glyndebourne at the BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC)

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro: Tommaso Barea, Johann Wallroth, Huw Montague Rendall, Louise Alder, Adèle Charvet, director: Mariame Clément/Talia Stern, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, conductor: Riccardo Minasi, Glyndebourne Festival Opera; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 27 August 2025

An economical staging mixed comedy, tragedy and politics that allowed a cast mixing youth and experience to create one of the most satisfying performances of the opera I have seen in a long time

Mariame Clément's production of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro debuted this summer at Glyndebourne and following a successful two month run, the performers came to rest at the Royal Albert Hall for the Glyndebourne Festival's annual visit to the BBC Proms. On 27 August 2025, Riccardo Minasi conducted the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment with the Glyndebourne Chorus. Tommaso Barea was Figaro, Johanna Wallroth was Susanna, Huw Montague Rendall was the Count, Louise Alder was the Countess, Alessandro Corbelli was Bartolo, Madeleine Shaw was Marcellina, and Adèle Charvet was Cherubino. The semi-staging was directed by Talia Stern based on Mariame Clément's production at Glyndebourne.

The Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment was pressed towards the rear of the stage, making extensive use of the risers which created a substantial acting area, though as is usual with these Glyndebourne Proms, there was little opportunity for eye contact between conductor Riccardo Minasi and his cast.

The set, such as it was, consisted of two doors which were made extensive use of, plus sundry elements of set dressing moved around by stage crew - chairs, tables, a screen for the Countess to change behind in Act Two and the bath for the Count in Act Three.

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - Louise Alder, Pippa Barton - Glyndebourne at the BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC)

Clément's production used a traditional, 18th century setting which meant that costumes (designer Julia Hansen) and action all gave a clear presentation of the hierarchy in the palace. Unlike the festival's previous 1960s-set production directed by Michael Grandage, the notion of droit de Seigneur was a clear and present danger here, forming a strong political thread throughout the action. Stern's boiling down of the original production used the limited resources (two doors, a chair, a sheet, a screen) to maximum effect so that the farcical elements were wittily done without too much suspension of disbelief.

Sing for Pleasure, the UK’s leading provider of choral conductor training, launches its newly updated Choral Conductor Training Programme

Sing for Pleasure training in action (Photo: Simon King)

This month, Sing for Pleasure, the UK’s leading provider of choral conductor training, launched its newly updated Choral Conductor Training Programme. The Programme, is an expansion and development on existing courses and builds on 60 years of expertise in the field.

The new programme starts with an Essentials module and then there are four levels - Consolidating, Developing, Enriching and Extending. The programme is built around four key aspects of learning:

• Preparation & Planning – the work done before rehearsal
• Teaching – how to run effective rehearsals and teach music
• Gesture – conducting techniques for both rehearsal and performance
• Leadership – developing the skills to inspire and guide singers

Courses are offered in flexible formats, including weekend workshops, four-day programmes, and the annual Summer School. The new training programme is led by expert tutors who are professional musicians with real-world experience from across the UK.

Sing for Pleasure was founded in 1964, and was inspired by the international French-based organisation A Coeur Joie. The organisation aims to encourage people of all ages to enjoy singing. It is the largest provider of choral conductor training in the UK and prides itself on delivering programmes and events that develop choral and musicianship skills. 

Full details from the Sing for Pleasure website.

East meets West: music for strings and tabla from Dionysius Ensemble as part of Slough Cultural Revival

Slough Cultural Revival is a project led by Slough Arts Forum, a collective of over 50 arts organisations, and supported by Arts Council England, intended to ‘revive’ the town as a centre for creativity and innovation, and act as a powerful catalyst for a vibrant cultural future for the town.

As part of this, the Dionysius Ensemble is presenting a cross cultural music event in Slough. East meets West at St Mary's Church, Slough, SL1 1PJ on 28 September 2025 will feature music for strings and tabla, with music by Mozart and Schubert alongside Bollywood and new works for string quartet and tabla.

The Dionysius Ensemble is the ensemble in residence at St Mary's Church, and they have been exploring the music of former Slough resident William Herschel, music and astronomer, issuing a disc of his trio sonatas as part of the 2022 bicentenary celebrations.

Further details of the ensemble's East meets West concert from TryBooking website.

Time to get blowing: Brassworks, Woolwich Works' celebration of all things brass

Brassworks at Woolwich Works

Brassworks, Woolwich Works' celebrations of all things brass returns to the multi-disciplinary cultural hub on the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich on Saturday 6 September 2025 with a parade through Woolwich, and a full day of free outdoor concerts in the courtyard.

The day kicks off with a parade through Woolwich towards Dial Arch and through the Royal Arsenal, winding its way to Woolwich Works. There, the Courtyard Stage will feature a whole variety of brass in free performances until 9.30pm. There is Crystal Palace Band, founded in 1901 and one of the few traditional Brass Bands remaining in London. In complete contrast is Bollywood Brass, the UK’s pioneering Indian-style wedding band, playing the great tunes and compulsively danceable rhythms of Bollywood.

Brassworks is hoping to reconnect people with forgotten brass instruments. They want to connect a community of players, who are looking to gain some brass skills, as well as have a hoot. So for Blow and Blast, during the afternoon there is a rehearsal workshop, and then the group will then have the opportunity to perform on the Brassworks stage led by Byron Wallen with members of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra.

Then Brassic Parp, whose members describe themselves as "Blurting out DJ style pop mashups with horns and a drum kit… all just so we can dress up as characters from Jurassic Park", and finally brass of a different style again with London Afrobeat Collective.

It is a a dog friendly venue and courtyard music is free of charge, with family games, a bar selling alcohol and soft drinks, an ice cream bike, a giant deckchair and a stretch tent to shade you from the sun.

Full details from Woolwich Works' website.

Rooted in Liverpool’s music ecosystem: Mark Simpson returns home as Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's 25/26 Artist in Residence

Mark Simpson (Photo: Matthew Johnson)

Composer and clarinettist Mark Simpson has been announced as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s (RLPO) new Artist in Residence for the 25/26 season. Simpson’s residency is launched with the UK premiere of his viola concerto, Hold Your Heart in Your Teeth, with the RLPO conducted by principal guest conductor Andrew Manze and featuring viola player Timothy Ridout. The 30-minute work is a musical response to a Romanian proverb encouraging you to ‘face your fears head on and move forward with courage’. (Soloist Timothy Ridout gave the world premiere last December at the Philharmonie). The concert will also feature a rarely heard version of Pictures at an Exhibition by Sir Henry Wood, featuring every one of the RLPO's famous church bells collection.

Further ahead, in January 2026 Simpson leads RLPO musicians as clarinettist in a programme pairing his own Geysir with Mozart’s Gran Partita. Then in March 2026, the RLPO, vocal ensemble EXAUDI and baritone Mark Stone perform Simpson’s oratorio The Immortal, conducted by Daniela Candillara. In this large-scale score for baritone, small chorus and orchestra, Melanie Challenger’s text explores paranormal events in the late Victorian era when mediums in different countries began writing down the same messages from a deceased psychical researcher who was harbouring a dark secret.

In April 2026, Simpson appears as soloist in John Adams’s clarinet concerto Gnarly Buttons with the RLPO’s contemporary music group Ensemble 10:10, conducted by George Jackson in a concert that also includes the UK premiere of Josephine Stephenson’s In Time Like Air. Finally, Simpson's season with RLPO concludes with a recital with pianist Ian Buckle in which they play Simpson's Lov(escape) and Echoes and Embers. Simpson describes how, “at this relaxed evening with me in the Music Room, I’ll be talking about growing up in Liverpool and how vital it was for my musical development and performing the music by my former composition teachers that brought me along the way”.

Simpson’s story is rooted in Liverpool’s music ecosystem and reflects both the city’s rich classical music infrastructure and the importance of access for young people. Born in Liverpool, Simpson began his musical journey in the Merseyside (now Liverpool Philharmonic) Youth Orchestra, which led him to the National Youth Orchestra. In 2006, at just 17, he became the first-ever winner of both BBC Young Musician of the Year and BBC Proms/Guardian Young Composer of the Year. 

His own formative experiences, from council-funded music tuition to Saturday morning ensembles, mirror the ambitions of the Orchestra’s In Harmony programme, which continues to transform the lives of children across Liverpool through music. This season also marks the 75th anniversary of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the very ensemble where Mark Simpson began his journey, and highlights Liverpool Philharmonic’s leading role as a champion of new music. The RLPO is one of the UK’s most active commissioners and performers of contemporary work, having premiered more than 300 new pieces in the last 20 years, and continues that commitment in the 2025/26 season.

Full details of the RLPO's new season from their website, and further details of Simpson's residency from his publisher's website.