The Lark Ascending: Music to transport you to an English garden
Saturday’s concert, given by the Stift Music Festival on the 27th August in the idyllic setting of Hooge Boekel, a Dutch country house just outside Enschede, was the perfect backdrop…
Stift Music Festival: quite simply a jewel in the crown
Held over nine days, with 28 concerts featuring over 40 talented and distinguished musicians, the Stift Music Festival here in the East Netherlands really has something for everyone. Founded in…
Makela’s Concertgebouw Mahler marks the dawn of a new era in Amsterdam
Friday night’s concert in Amsterdam, the first of a series of concerts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (KCO) and their new Artistic Partner, Klaus Mäkelä conducting Mahler 6, was the hottest…
Redefining the World of Classical Music Competitions
Friday night’s concert at De Doelen, Rotterdam was the culmination of two weeks of frenetic music-making here in the Netherlands, and the highlight of this inaugural International Conducting Competition, Rotterdam.…
A Striking If Perplexing Midsummer Night’s Dream!
As a Suffolk girl, growing up just six miles from Benjamin Britten’s place of birth, the music from this most English of composers runs deep through my veins. Whilst preparing…
A Candle Burning Brightly In The World of Music Education
The International Piano Competition in Enschede, May 2021, brings together young pianists from all over the world in pursuit of that illusive first prize.
Alpesh Chauhan, Alena Baeva and Phion find new emotional depths in these turbulent times
This winning combination of Alpesh Chauhan and Alena Baeva really did leave a lingering impression in the minds of this Dutch audience
Orpheé | L’Amour | Eurydice. Opera, But Not As We Know It.
Once inside, we were enveloped in a world of virtual reality headsets. This was opera, but not as we know it. And it was very good. It was truly wonderful.
The Phion Orchestra With Annelien Van Wauwe Gave a Sparkling Performance
The Finnish music of Kaija Saariaho found dazzling exponents in the hands of two Belgian artists: Annelien Van Wauve and Martijn Dendievel
Sofia Vasheruk plays Beethoven
The Oost-Nederlands Symfonieorkest offered an enticing programme featuring the Russian-born pianist, Sofia Vasheruk playing Beethoven’s 5th Piano Concerto, the Emperor in the Ontmoetingkerk, Enschede on Saturday night. In a program originally…