Music
Virtuosos of the written word
Only a few great composers are equally gifted writers: their work can be sacred or hatefully profane
The adoration of the Maestro
The Concertgebouw’s trailblazing conductor sublimated his libido in worship of Hitler and Mussolini
Describing the indescribable
Few of even the greatest writers have managed to capture the emotional, elusive, essence of music
The threepenny opera boom
Inspirational amateur companies are flourishing, yet damned as elitist by London’s culture czars
Women storm the podium
In classical music nothing happens overnight, but the rise of female conductors marks a massive change
There’s nowt so fake as “folk”
The Scots, Welsh and Irish have an authentic tradition of folk songs. England demonstrably does not
Not in front of the children
The London staging of Hänsel und Gretel was far superior to Berlin’s ludicrously bad production
Dancing to the SNP’s tunes
Scottish music and culture is playing second fiddle to an increasingly nationalist and socialist agenda
Lover of Venice, Proust and song
The chansons of Reynaldo Hahn are haunting and evocative. They deserve to be better known
The therapy of forty voices
My attempt to emulate Tallis was initially terrifying, but now that the work is finished I am quite bereft
Will the green agenda be killed off by the pandemic?
‘Will the green agenda be killed off by the longer-term coronavirus recovery? Or might the closure of so much business, and the cleaner air that results from planes not flying and factories not working, give us extra years to gain control of our environment?’
Why T.S. Eliot still matters
His contemporaries’ reputations have diminished. But Eliot’s has grown: he is the poet who shows us what can be saved from the ruins
Music’s in the house
Rappers have found a role in lockdown: chronicling coronavirus with topical tunes. Most people, though, are rushing to the safety of the past