The Spidy Editor | Clare Varney - Music | Food

Unpicking the writing process with debut novelist, Lucy Steeds

30 April 2025Culture

British author, Lucy Steeds finds inspiration and creative freedom in Amsterdam’s rich cultural heritage. A suppressed female artist, a controlling uncle who is also a world famous French artist, and…

A message of hope: Bychkov and the RCO play Shostakovich

25 April 2025Music

Anniversaries for various composers come and go, but rarely does a composer’s commemoration seem as poignant as this year’s 50th anniversary of the death of Dmitri Shostakovich. And who better…

Premières aplenty from Mäkelä and RCO

19 April 2025Music

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra confirmed their commitment to curating music for generations to come with two premieres by the French composer, Guillaume Connesson. A warm glow descended the Concertgebouw as…

Euphoric and immersive cinematic experience: Reich/Richter in Amsterdam

13 April 2025Music

Amsterdam really is the place to be. With not one, but two world premieres from Dutch National Opera in their Opera Forward festival a fortnight ago; the world premiere of…

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…