Martin Kettle
Jonas Kaufmann - review
Jonas Kaufmann is everybody's darling in opera's dramatic tenor stakes. But this recital of Verdi and Wagner, a splendid evening in many ways, was also a reminder of the limitations of the operatic concert form, and of the fact that the German singer is s
Murray Perahia - review
Murray Perahia 's trademarks - the luminous pearly tone, the enviable control in quiet passages, the clear shape and balance of his interpretations - were all there in the D major Sonata by Haydn with which he began this Barbican recital , and in much
Nabucco - review
A successful performance of Verdi's Nabucco rests on three principal pillars: the chorus, the conductor and the soprano singing the lung-pumping role of Abigaille.
Igor Levit - review
Wigmore Hall, London Born in Russia, raised in Germany, and just 26 this year, pianist Igor Levit is increasingly spoken of as a special one. On the evidence of this wide-ranging Wigmore recital, that judgment is well made. Unlike those technically bri
Ibragimova/Tiberghien - review
Wigmore Hall, London Schubert's output for violin and piano was small, considering the formidable productivity of his chamber writing in so many other forms. Though no less a pairing than Fritz Kreisler and Sergei Rachmaninov once made a celebrated r
Hagen Quartet - review
Wigmore Hall, London The Hagen Quartet 's Beethoven cycle at the Wigmore Hall stretches until late May. Their distribution of the quartets between six concerts avoids the traditional patterns, and nowhere was this thoughtful programming more striking
Britten Sinfonia/Hewitt - review
Barbican, London When keyboard lions of the past such as Arthur Rubinstein and Claudio Arrau were still playing, a weighty evening containing two, or sometimes even three, Beethoven piano concertos was not an uncommon piece of concert programming. Bu
