COMPARING NOTES: Julian Ovenden in Conversation
Actor and singer Julian Ovenden chats to Edward Seckerson about the postponed revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s ‘South Pacific’ in Chichester, performing Sondheim in London and Paris, working for Harvey Weinstein on Scott Frankel and Michael Korie’s…
COMPARING NOTES: Dame Sarah Connolly in Conversation
Distinguished mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly discusses her new recording of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, singing Handel at Glyndebourne and ENO, Fricka in Wagner’s Ring Cycle, admired directors and dream roles with…
GRAMOPHONE: Shostakovich Violin Concertos – State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia ‘Evgeny Svetlanov’/Jurowski
If there’s one factor above all that sets these performances apart it’s the osmosis between soloist and conductor. There’s a musical and intellectual friction going on here and it has to do with the balance between head…
GRAMOPHONE: Richard Rodney Bennett Orchestral Works Vol. 4 – Michael McHale, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Wilson
I love the analogy Richard Rodney Bennett made when describing his multi-faceted career as ‘Different rooms, albeit in the same house’ – adding almost as a throw-away that he might have (unceremoniously) knocked down some of the…
GRAMOPHONE: From Where I Sit – July 2020
Written from lockdown (I never thought I’d write those words) where I am putting the finishing touches to a survey of Decca’s bumper box of Karajan remasterings for BBC Radio 3’s ‘Record Review’. It will be a…
COMPARING NOTES: Edward Gardner in Conversation
Edward Gardner, Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra discusses Britten’s Peter Grimes, his appointment as Prinicpal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and his rich recording relationship with Chandos Records wth Edward Seckerson.… [Read More]
GRAMOPHONE Review: Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 ‘The Year 1905’ – BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/Storgårds
Each time I hear the opening of this symphony – in filmic terms a long slow pan across the frozen forecourt of the Winter Palace in St Petersburg – I immediately think of countless grainy black and…
COMPARING NOTES: John Owen-Jones in Conversation
West End and Broadway star John Owen-Jones chats with Edward Seckerson about his two best-known roles, Jean Valjean in Les Misérables and the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera, his vocal process, and his love of…
COMPARING NOTES: Michael Xavier in Conversation
West End and Broadway leading man Michael Xavier discusses starring opposite Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard in London and New York, his working processes for theatre and film, and his MX Masterclasses for aspiring young performers.… [Read…
GRAMOPHONE Review: Mahler Symphony No. 6 – Essen Philharmonic Orchestra/Netopil
Here’s a Mahler 6 that comes with its own historical context. Unlikely as it may now seem, Essen was where Mahler first performed the harrowing Sixth in 1906 and the Essener Philharmoniker is the orchestra that can…
