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Bristol city scape with Moon

Bristolian Spring – Part 2: My roundup of the latest concerts in Bristol

I love my city – Bristol. For sure, there are things that annoy me – the lack of a mass transit system – why? And certain derelict buildings that have stood like eyesores for...
Bristol historic docks

Bristolian Spring – Part 1: My roundup of the latest concerts in Bristol

At heart I’m a city boy. Even though my job involves working with farmers and I love country walks and nature spotting, I feel the need to be close to where culture is. I...
jonathan Goodard as the Monster in Mark Bruce company's Frankenstein

Frankenstein – Mark Bruce Company’s unmissable new dance double bill

I really like contemporary dance and I love modern classical music. It’s not often I see them combined as it’s hard to keep one’s eyes peeled on all the listings and besides many events...
Total Immersion Missy Mazzoli flyer

Total Immersion: Missy Mazzoli at the Barbican

Over the last few days I have had this idea in my head. If there was a new Mount Rushmore exclusively set aside for contemporary American composers, which four heads would be carved in...
The Sound World Ensemble rehearsing at the Mount Without.

Sound World @ The Crypt – 14 Jan: Concert review

I’ve been pretty busy over the last couple of weeks so this is a rather belated review of the second Sound World concert in the Crypt at the Mount Without (read my review of...
Bristol Beacon classical concert artworks showing hands reaching out to eachother

A great weekend in Bristol culminating in the World Premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Odyssey – Review

Bristol seemed to be like the centre of the classical musical world these last few days! We’ve had several features on BBC Radio 3 in the prominent Breakfast and In Tune slots and the...

Love, existence and death – Trio Chagall paint pictures of Vitebsk – Review

At the end of yesterday’s concert at Wigmore Hall pianist Lorenzo Nguyen said that as the concert had been “very tough” that their encore piece would be a movement from Haydn trio. This did...
Picture montage of Aaron Copland listening to Leonard Bernstein with a score of Connotations for Orchestra

Binary Stars – Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein

Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein were two titans of 20th Century Music. In many ways they were inseparable, a 50-year friendship where encouragement and patronage passed in both directions. More than this, like binary...
Headshots of Thando Mjandana, Mimi Doulton and Daniel Kidane

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group premiere Daniel Kidane’s Cradle Song and other recent British works

Some concerts you are aware of for weeks in advance and some come your way by happenstance! This morning I didn’t know I would be going to a performance this afternoon. Then an email...
Instruments and music stands at the Crypt in The Mount Without, Bristol

Bristol Sound World begin their residency at the Mount Without – I was there!

Sometimes the thing you are looking for is right under your nose. Such is the case with the Bristol based project Sound World. I have been vaguely aware of this initiative and its valiant...