A miraculous Wagner Dream from Welsh National Opera
[Bachtrack] Well worth the trip to Cardiff. Amazing opera.
(Very) short story about a suicidal iguana
“And are you still in touch with Ella?”
“Oh, you know, every now and then; she’ll sometimes ring round all us girls and tell us she needs us to come over that Saturday and we’ll all have to pretend we’re still students for a bit; it’s not really the same though; I don’t really get on with her boyfriend for a start – she lives with him – he’s a nice guy, ex-army actually, but to be honest he’s kind of possessive and I don’t really think he likes us being over there; he’s always just a bit cold, you know? Like he’ll just hide out in their bedroom all evening and barely even come in and say hi, which might just be him being polite, because he’s trying to give us all space to catch up, but I kind of get the impression that’s just what he does anyway to be honest; Ella never talks about their actual relationship, she just goes on about their sex life, which I can’t stand at all; we never actually had those sorts of talks when we were students; it just feels really forced, you know? But anyway, they’ve got this iguana.”
Mauricio Kagel's The Pieces of the Compass Rose with the London Sinfonietta and Thierry Fischer
[Bachtrack] Went slightly nuts for this one. It was really very good indeed.
New Dots (and sounds) at The Forge, Camden
[Bachtrack] Some new pieces by an interesting new organisation.
Bruce Brubaker plays Alvin Curran at Kings Place
[Bachtrack] Hope Street Tunnel Blues III is quite the piece. This was apparently its UK premiere. Worth the wait.
Chess, leaves and eagles: New works at the Purcell Room
[Bachtrack] Nice concert with two world premieres.
Eight extraordinary string players meet: The Arditi and JACK Quartets combine at Wigmore Hall
[Bachtrack] Four works, all new to London.
Not an outrageous start to Nico Muhly's A Scream and an Outrage weekend
[Bachtrack] Pretty varied concert, overall not a successful one. Concluding piece should not have happened.
Sir John Eliot Gardiner at 70 with the LSO and Stravinsky
[Bachtrack] This was great; two really excellent Stravinsky works, incredibly well performed.
Ringing true: John Tilbury performs Beckett on a piano
[One Stop Arts] Confusing in concept. And execution.
International Contemporary Ensemble at Kings Place
[Bachtrack] A pleasant if small-scale concert.
Première of Michel van der Aa's Sunken Garden at the Barbican
[Bachtrack] This was certainly an interesting evening. Absolutely massive mosquito.
Brahms meets Schoenberg: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in London for The Rest is Noise
[Bachtrack] Rest is Noise gig, nominally. Great playing though. Bronfman phenomenal.
Talking to strangers on trains
Is this something 25-year-olds do? Because I did this on my journeys both to and from London this Easter weekend, during which I turned 25. I’m not usually particularly talkative, I guess, so I consider this notable.
Gergiev and the LSO in Brahms and Szymanowski choral works
[Bachtrack] My first experience of the LSO / Gergiev Brahms / Szymanowski pairing. Intriguing.
