The Spidy Editor | Clare Varney - Music | Food

Bruce Liu plays Chopin with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta

29 March 2025Music

The stage was set, complete with tablet stands and obligatory foot-pedal page turners. As the Amsterdam Sinfonietta arrived at the Muziekcentrum, Enschede for a programme entitled “Homesickness for Italy”, all…

A jubilant finale to the Tonhalle’s European tour with Paavo Järvi

25 March 2025Music

Paavo Järvi had a glint in his eye. Now at the end of a European tour taking in Hamburg, Paris, Frankfurt and Cologne, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich were going out with…

Sheku Kanneh-Mason works his magic with Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic

7 March 2025Music

Exactly 50 years ago to the day, Semyon Bychkov fled the Soviet Union for Vienna, carrying a score - Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony in D minor, Op 47. Like Shostakovich, he…

Davina Clarke and friends define the Art of Obligato

21 February 2025Culture, Music

The highlight of many a violinist’s calendar is the prospect of playing J.S. Bach’s wonderful violin obligatos in his St. Matthew Passion. Who will play the first orchestra’s Erbarme dich,…

Parisian music galore from Théotime Langlois de Swarte and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century

18 February 2025Music

The Great Church in Enschede was abuzz with curiosity. All were eager to learn more about the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century’s young French soloist and conductor, Théotime Langlois de…

Sofia Vasheruk makes the piano sing in Amsterdam

16 February 2025Music

Undulating chords amidst a sea of calm, as the piano gently introduced a heavenly melody. Twisting, turning, grasping at embers in the snow, unsure which direction to turn next. Such…

A strikingly colourful Ariadne auf Naxos from Nederlandse Reisopera

6 February 2025Culture, Music

Opera thrives on partnership. Nederlandse Reisopera’s new production of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, is the perfect vehicle for such a vision, not only bringing together all the art forms,…

Rotterdam Philharmonic appoints Top man for the job

30 January 2025Culture, Music

Dutch violinist, Tjeerd Top is the new leader of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, replacing Igor Gruppman who bid the orchestra a fond farewell in January 2023. Taking a six-month sabbatical from…

Yearning and longing: Gražinytė-Tyla and Blechacz at the Concertgebouw

28 January 2025Music

Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla is having quite a year. Following her departure from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 2022, she has spent subsequent seasons travelling the world as a guest conductor…

Joshua Bell inspires a new generation of violinists at the Concertgebouw

28 January 2025Culture, Music

The Concertgebouw was buzzing. In one of the most diverse audiences I have seen for a while, young and old alike jostled for position in the cosy foyer of the…