Features

Free podcast: Vasily Petrenko's Shostakovich project at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Monday, 23 November 2009

The charismatic St. Petersburg-born Vasily Petrenko has really been turning things around at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra since he took over as Principal Conductor in 2005.

Ballet and Opera - The odd couple

Friday, 20 November 2009

To many ballet fans, opera is all about melodrama and inappropriate vocalising. Yet, to opera aficionados, ballet can seem limited and dull. But, Jessica Duchen says, they do work together – and two companies aim to prove it

Observations: Ryuichi Sakamoto's unchained melodies

Friday, 20 November 2009

"I am just trying to avoid being a slave to the old musical system," says Ryuichi Sakamoto of his new CD, Out of Noise. "I was doing that when I was 18, but then came a long detour into pop and film music. I now want to get back to my roots." And the world's most eccentric singer-songwriter gives a self-deprecating laugh: that detour included modelling for Gap, playing a sadistic prison guard opposite David Bowie, co-starring with Madonna in the video for Rain, and composing the music for a long list of feature films, including Shirin Neshat's 2009 Women Without Men.

Exclusive Independent offer: Cheap ENO tickets

Wednesday, 11 November 2009

Save up to £72

Free podcast: The Bernstein Project at Southbank Centre

Tuesday, 10 November 2009

Listen to the famed icon’s daughter Jamie Bernstein speak about her father, Leonard Bernstein, with Independent Classical correspondent Edward Seckerson in this podcast specially commissioned for Southbank Centre’s The Bernstein Project.

Michael Church: Brilliance and brainlessness at ENO

Monday, 9 November 2009

To see the revival of David McVicar’s fabulous ‘Turn of the Screw’ (left) is to be reminded just how good English National Opera can be when it sticks to its metier: getting brilliant directors to give tried and trusted classics a new and original twist, with singers who understand how to work as an ensemble.

Observations: Thomas Arne is due a revival after 166 years

Friday, 30 October 2009

"Rule, Britannia!" is one of the most familiar tunes in Britain, but whatever happened to its composer?

ENO podcast: Duke Bluebeard's Castle and The Rite of Spring

Monday, 26 October 2009

Edward Seckerson talks to Duke Bluebeard's Castle director Daniel Kramer, The Rite of Spring director/choregrapher Michael Keegan-Dolan, and conductor Edward Gardner

The Diary: Mark Wallinger; Pink Floyd; Royal Opera House; John O'Farrell

Friday, 23 October 2009

Michael Church: Classical music has no Anish Kapoor, thank God!

Monday, 19 October 2009

Anyone wanting to take the pulse of the fine-art world in its present state should use the BBC’s watch-again facility to catch Stephen Sackur’s interview with Anish Kapoor in BBC World’s Hard Talk slot.