Prokofiev Studio: new gallery devoted to the abstract art of Oleg Prokofiev son of the composer & father of composer Gabriel Prokofiev

Composer Gabriel Prokofiev is opening a space dedicated to the art of his father Oleg Prokofiev (1928-1998), son of composer Sergei Prokofiev. Oleg wrote that his father's music inspired in him 'a wave of some wonderful energy...a poetic or artistic impulse'.

Oleg became known for his abstract works created in the 1950s in defiance of the Soviet Union’s strict cultural controls where the doctrine of socialist realism was rigidly imposed. Come the 1960s, Oleg developed a relationship with British art historian Camilla Gray and for a decade Oleg hid his abstract work, so the couple could get married. Granted permission in 1969, the two married but Camilla Gray died two years later. Oleg moved to the UK after her death, but his abstract works were left behind, Oleg believing them lost. Returning to his former home in Moscow in 1994, he discovered that the art works had been kept safe by the house's owner alongside the artist's sketches. 

Camilla Gray's book The Great Experiment: Russian Art 1863–1922, published in 1962, broke new ground in explaining Russian avant-garde art outside Russia. Gray was the daughter of Basil Gray, keeper of Oriental art at the British Museum, and the scholar of art and lettering Nicolete Gray, and granddaughter of the poet Laurence Binyon.

Gabriel Prokofiev has now opened Prokofiev Studio in Hackney which will house his father's archive, featuring abstract artworks from the 1950s alongside letters, postcards, sketchbooks, sculptures and other lost paintings. The opening exhibition, Bending Time will feature a reconstruction of Oleg's 1990s studio in Hackney Wick.

Further information from Prokofiev Studio on Instagram. 

10th anniversary: Fantasia Orchestra celebrates with a busy summer featuring a return to the BBC Proms

Jasdeep Singh Degun, Gurdain Rayatt, Fantasia Orchestra, Tom Fetherstonhaugh - Smith Square Hall (Photo: Pablo Strong)

Fantasia Orchestra, conductor Tom Fetherstonhaugh, celebrates its 10th anniversary this summer with a very busy programme of concerts including a return to the BBC Proms, festival appearances at Cheltenham, Snape and more, and a premiere with Dame Evelyn Glennie.

Having recently joined forces with sitar player and composer Jasdeep Singh Degun at Smith Square Hall [see my review], the orchestra returns to Smith Square later this month for a jazz-infused concert featuring pianist Steven Osborne in Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1 alongside a typically eclectic programme featuring more DSCH, plus Gershwin, Rogers & Hart and Bartok. And their final Smith Square concert of the season features mezzo-soprano Niamh O’Sullivan in a surprising mix of contemporaries including Richard Strauss, Alma Mahler, Ellington, Kern, Gershwin and more

The orchestra's first Prom (at St Jude's) is more sedate with Junyan Chen the soloist in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 alongside Symphony No. 1. A Relaxed Prom at the Royal Albert Hall includes music by Dvořák, Vaughan Williams and Caroline Shaw, alongside arrangements of Radiohead and Duke Ellington, performed with the BBC Singers. Then a Late Night Prom sees them join with Evelyn Glennie for the premiere of Heloise Werner's Wood Pigeon alongside music by Meredith Monk, Morton Feldman and John Coltrane, marking both Feldman and Coltrane's 100th anniversaries.

Festival going sees the Orchestra in Cheltenham with Jasdeep Singh Degun for a repeat of their programme, they are joined by mezzo-soprano Anita Monserrat for a remix of the Strauss, Alma Mahler, Ellington, Kern, Gershwin programme at Guiting Music Festival, and they will also be popping up in Snape Maltings.

Full details from the Fantasia Orchestra website. 

Windrush & Migrations - An Evening of Opera in Concert: Pegasus Opera Company & Brixton Chamber Orchestra join forces for Windrush Day

Pegasus Opera Company is joining forces with another dynamic Brixton musical institution, Brixton Chamber Orchestra for a pair of events marking Windrush Day 2026. They are presenting Windrush & Migrations: an Evening of Opera in Concert at Broadway Theatre, Rushey Green (25 June) and Lambeth Town Hall (26 June).

The evening includes excerpts from Will Todd's Migrations which was first commissioned by Welsh National Opera [see my review] and Des Oliver's Windrush Opera commissioned by Pegasus Opera Company, alongside other evocative works that reflect themes of journey, identity and hope. The evening also includes music from Philip Hagemann's opera Ruth based on the Bible story, which Pegasus Opera first performed in 2018.

An evening of music and storytelling exploring themes of migration, identity and belonging, these are stories that resonate strongly across London’s communities, offering an accessible and inspiring entry point into the art form while honouring the significance of Windrush Day.

Full details from Pegasus Opera Company's website.