classical music & opera
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With its gore, sexual menace and overtones of Beckett, Gerard Jones’s production will divide audiences but succeeds superbly in showcasing its young singers
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Music directors say decision sends worrying message about the value the government puts on music
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Arguments in favour left many unconvinced, and with his Barbican concerts Simon Rattle has already showed the difference he can make to a venue’s sound
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From Tomb Raider to The Sims, games are taking over the studio made famous by the Beatles. Our writer sees a 120-strong orchestra and choir tap into its fabled atmosphere to record Final Fantasy XV
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facing the music
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The viola player on the great musical innovator Biber, the inspirational Borodin Quartet, and the extremities of Messiaen and Shostakovich
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The conductor and founder of the Tallis Scholars on the Beatles, Bruckner and Bryd, and why we should treat Bach with less respect
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weekly from the archive
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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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From 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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From the classical archive, 13 February 1976: Christopher Ford meets a young conductor on a fast-track to success
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Respected conductor takes over from Mark Wigglesworth as company seeks stability after two years of cuts and crises
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Leeds Piano Competition reboot Paul Lewis on transforming 'the Leeds' to nurture tomorrow's pianists
The Leeds piano competition is being given a radical, creative reboot. Paul Lewis, one of its new directors – alongside Adam Gatehouse – explains the plan -
you may have missed
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The choirmaster who used to sell ice creams on Bournemouth beach is angling for his next Christmas No 1 – and teaching Team GB how to sing the National Anthem properly
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Philip Glass and Robert Wilson’s abstract opera premiered in 1976 and, in 2012, that original production was revived for a world tour. Filmed at Paris’s Théâtre du Châtelet it is now available on DVD
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As part of celebrations for the composer’s 80th birthday, a unique performance of Steve Reich’s piece about transport during the Holocaust took place at a train station
guides
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Our series arrives in the eternal city – but which Rome is it? City of vanished power? Chic energy? Indomitable beauty? Or as Berlioz put it – ‘the most stupid and prosaic city I know’
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Tom Service's survey of the 50 symphonies that changed classical music
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Tom Service introduces 50 composers from the contemporary classical music scene
most viewed
First night Lulu, English National Opera – Kentridge makes Berg's opera a serious visual feast