SINCE 1999 A LIVE REVIEW SITE FOR OPERA, BALLET, CONCERTS, BROADCASTS, AND THEATRE
Seen and Heard International is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Bernard Haitink and reproduces the statements from the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Opera House
The London Symphony Orchestra was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Bernard Haitink, who passed away at the age of 92 on 21 October.
Round-up of the George Enescu Festival 2021
In recent years a biennial event, the George Enescu Festival has been lucky with the coronavirus pandemic: the last festival was held in 2019, six months before the first lockdown. The 25th edition of the festival, held in September 2021, then came along as the vaccines have offered a light at the end of the tunnel, at least for the world’s richest countries. Even with some of these countries being among the most vaccine-hesitant (Romania has the second-lowest vaccination rate in the EU), the festival was able to go ahead with nearly full halls, thanks to a safety concept that mandated the EU digital COVID certificate for entry and the wearing of masks during performances. With these measures in place, the festival ran for four weeks – the longest duration in its history – and saw 78 concerts performed by 3,500 artists in Bucharest, including 32 orchestras from 14 countries.
Memories of the Cumbria Opera Festival 2021 The Cumbria Opera Group has existed since 2016, with the aim of bringing high-quality opera, classical music, and music education to the fantastic county of Cumbria. For a week in September this year they presented Cumbria’s first ever Opera Festival. It will return in 2023 (26 August to … Read more
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is delighted to announce that Japanese conductor Kazuki Yamada has been appointed as its Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor with effect from 1 April 2023 for an initial four and a half-year period.
Permanence as Pleasure: Rodin at Tate Modern
Advanced in his career, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) went to see the Hellenic (Greek and Roman) sculptures in the British Museum. Those which had been broken spoke most powerfully to him. So much so that he returned to his workshop and immediately broke some of his own sculptures. Their so-called message increased. Critics and friends agreed.
The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park is the first permanent open-air performance venue in the San Diego Symphony’s century-long history. With world-class acoustics, video screens and broadband streaming capabilities, this state-of-the-art facility is designed to host more than a hundred concerts and events annually. It is situated in the 3.7-acre Jacobs Park on the city’s … Read more
Note For Note: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
An interview with author and amateur pianist, Howard Smith
Howard Smith has had a top-flight career in the world of computing and computer programming. On approaching retirement, he decided to leave his career and try something completely different – learn to play the piano. Howard had started the learn to play the piano as a child but was uninspired by the rigid approach adopted at that time and did not continue with his studies. In his book, Note For Note – Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered he describes the new and creative approaches which his teachers adopted to enable him to engage with the process of learning to play.
Samuel Hudson discusses his 2021 Three Choirs Festival with John Quinn
When Samuel Hudson took up his post as Director of Music at Worcester Cathedral in autumn 2019, he must have been very excited. Not only was he to be in charge of the music at one of England’s leading cathedrals, but also the post carried with it the artistic directorship of the Three Choirs Festival one year in every three – and it was to be Worcester’s turn to host the festival in the summer of 2020. He moved to Worcester from Blackburn Cathedral, where he had been Director of Music since 2011, and his musical pedigree is strong. He was organ scholar successively at Girton College, Cambridge and Wells Cathedral, after which he held posts at two significant churches, St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, London and All Saints’ Church, Hertford, prior to his move to Blackburn.
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