The search for the definitive Miles Davis sound
What an incredible task the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw set themselves. To revisit the 1960s sound world of Miles Davis, and more specifically, to recreate a concert given by…
Best Reads of 2024
Csardas by Diane Pearson First published in 1975, Csardas explores the changing shape of Hungary and its transformation from the throes of the demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the establishment the…
Shane van Neerden’s piano recital challenges all the senses
An enthusiastic audience in the Muziekcentrum, Enschede turned out to hear the young Dutch American pianist, Shane van Neerden perform a programme of Debussy, Scriabin, Ives and a new commission for two…
Dutch radio host heads to the BBC Proms
NPO Klassiek presenter, Ab Nieuwdorp, celebrates all things English in his podcast England my England. In the episode Last Night of the Proms Special, Nieuwdorp meets two Brits with not…
Mäkelä and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra continue the fine tradition of Christmas Day concerts
The Christmas Day concert from Klaus Mäkelä and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra broadcast live on Dutch national television AVROTROS and NPO Klassiek radio on 25th December, not only put classical music…
Simon McBurney’s Magic Flute makes a triumphant return to Dutch National Opera
Where to start when discussing Simon McBurney’s 2012 production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, now in its third Dutch National Opera reincarnation in Amsterdam after travelling all around the world to great…
Francis van Broekhuizen and Elenora Hu bring a splash of glamour to Phion’s Callas celebration
In this the centenary year of her birth, such is the fascination with Maria Callas that organisations all around are hosting their own tributes to one of the most famous…
Gustavo Dudamel and the Berliner Philharmoniker raise the roof with a spellbinding Mahler 5
On a cold, wet and unseasonably wintry October evening, the Berliner Philharmoniker's performance of Mahler's Fifth Symphony with Gustavo Dudamel was truly special. What a way to celebrate the 60th…
Inside the Rehearsal Room with Klaus Mäkelä and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
'That's where the magic happens!' Klaus Mäkelä, the twenty-seven-year-old Finnish conductor is very much the man of the moment. Much has been written about Mäkelä's training and how he crafted…
Is this perhaps the best Buffalo Mozzarella outside of Italy?
Buffalo Farm Twente, found deep in the lush, green Dutch countryside on the Dutch German border, is a truly amazing farm. Headed up by husband and wife team, Alfons and…