classical music & opera
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We need more women composers – and it's not about tokenism, it's about talentWhy are female composers not taken as seriously as their male counterparts? Sound and Music, the national development organisation for new music, are determined to do something about it -
Beatrice RanaThe young pianist and medallist in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition on Bach, Brahms and Ligeti, and letting her hair down to Queen
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The Winter’s Tale; Pelléas et MélisandeA top ENO cast and orchestra do justice to Ryan Wigglesworth’s The Winter’s Tale. Plus Debussy to die for at Scottish Opera -
V&A opera exhibition looks to put to rest prejudice about art formMuseum plans to explain history of Europe through prism of opera, showing how art can cross borders and inspire
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St Paul’s appoints first full-time female chorister in 1,000-year historyCarris Jones ‘stood out as a singer with a beautiful voice which has both power and lyricism’, according to the cathedral’s musical director
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Brahms: Serenades 1 & 2 CD review – Jaime Martín in the spotlightGävle Symphony Orchestra/Martín
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Bartók: The String Quartets CD review – profound understandingVégh Quartet
(Praga Digitals) (2 CDs)
facing the music
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Conductor Daniele Rustioni: 'My infatuation with Wagner began when I was 14'From a teenage obsession with Wagner to the inspirational Giulini and the daily necessity of Bach, the conductor shares his musical passions
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Composer Helen Grime: 'I’ll never forget the visceral energy and joy on first hearing Janáček’s Sinfonietta'From Bach to Bacharach, and Björk and George Benjamin, the composer tells us about the music and musicians that inspire her
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weekly from the archive
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David Munrow profile - 'not even Mick Jagger has such versatile lips'9 March 1971: Meirion Bowen on the scholar, virtuosic musician and crumhorn whizzkid at the forefront of the period-instrument movement, who died tragically young 40 years ago
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Beethoven: 'Even among his oldest friends, he must be humoured like a wayward child'From the archive, 23 April 1827: Following the death of Beethoven, the Observer publishes a personal account of the eccentric and prodigiously talented composer
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Wagner wines, collars and cravats, and the man himself in a velvet cap: our report from the first Bayreuth festivalFrom the archive, 11 August 1876: The Guardian reports from the very first Bayreuth Wagner festival, presided over by the composer himself.
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Hamburg’s new world-class public venue trumpets its host city to the world. London is already a beacon, and doesn’t need Simon Rattle’s dream hall in quite the same way
A new concert hall for London? The artistic case is clear, the political one less so -
Beethoven in dreadlocks … the exhibition that celebrates great myths about the composerDid deafness liberate him? Was his African ancestry suppressed? Did he write a musical communist manifesto? A new show in Paris celebrates – and debunks – the many myths surrounding Beethoven
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you may have missed
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Nicolai GeddaOperatic tenor with a heaven-sent voice who was a favourite of international audiences for more than 40 years
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Classical stars pick their favourite Wolfgang Amadeus wonderIt’s 225 years since Mozart’s death, and there’s a giant CD collection to mark it featuring many of the biggest names in classical music. We asked some of them to reveal which of his works they love best
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English National Opera names Martyn Brabbins as music directorRespected conductor takes over from Mark Wigglesworth as company seeks stability after two years of cuts and crises
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Can independent music shops survive on today's high street?Small retailers everywhere are struggling to compete with online competition. But one classical music store in north London is surviving - and even thriving
guides
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A guide to contemporary classical musicTom Service introduces 50 composers from the contemporary classical music scene
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Stephen Moss's guide to the music of Europe's great cities: BerlinOur series ends in Berlin, the classical music lover’s dream destination, with Berg, Busoni, Bowie and Bernstein.
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Tom Service's survey of the 50 symphonies that changed musical historyTom Service's survey of the 50 symphonies that changed classical music
News Love letters between Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears go on display