We are overrun with singer-songwriters but you'd think a virtuoso violinist and whistler who sings about pollination and Petri dishes would stand out.

Katie Melua's fifth album suffers from the opposite shortcoming to most female singers: rather than over-emote too flamboyantly, on Secret Symphony she seems emotionally constrained, stifling the songs in politesse.

The ROH's latest 'everyday' tale revolves around a lottery, its star and composer tell Jessica Duchen

The popular Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla died of an apparent heart attack yesterday in Switzerland during a European concert tour. He was 68.

I have the great good fortune of being able to walk to work through one of London's most beautiful parks. And at this time of the year, when the stirrings of spring are visible and tangible, it is a commute that can lift one's spirits, even if you're irritated that your iPhone has run out of battery again and you've just been ripped off by your builder/dentist/dry cleaner and your bank has mysteriously put a stop on your credit card and you can't get through to a human being to explain.

Randy Newman always was old before his time, but on the evidence of this memorable evening, the 68-year-old American finally seems to have reached the age he was born to be.

This Canadian songstress had existed with moderate success on the fringes of the Americana scene for nearly a decade. But last year a rather explosive episode in her private life took the, normally emotionally-charged, singer’s approach to another level and thrust her into the arms - both professionally and personally - of Justin Vernon, the front man of Bon Iver.

“I spent the summer on my back...” What an opening line. But it somehow sets the tone: Annie Clark – aka St Vincent – may be the most sexual guitar player I've ever seen, male or female.

The star appeal of an ex-Blonde whose roots are still showing

The onstage mingling of orchestra, soloists, and conductor prior to this seasonal performance of Berlioz' L'enfance du Christ was presumably designed to lend a more intimate, informal tone to the start of the evening so that the music could "emerge", as it were, without the usual formalities of bows and applause.

When a man has evaded marriage until the age of 75, he has probably earned the right to wear pyjama bottoms on his wedding day. And that is precisely how Michael Winner will be attired when he finally ends the longest bachelordom in Britain.

I grow old, I grow old...I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. And my trousers are not the half of it.

The Capacity to map one's own genome will soon be within reach of the ordinary man or woman for a mere $1,000, courtesy of the Californian outfit Life Technologies. To put that in perspective, the first complete human genome produced a decade ago cost $3bn. According to the company's spokesman, the new screening will allow patients to have "personalised medicine", showing them which drugs they should take and for which diseases they should be tested. And that's a good thing, right? Because information is power, isn't it? I'm not so sure.