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Stephen Williamson premieres Christopher Theofanidis’s clarinet concerto with the CSO on 6 March

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From friendship to music: Stephen Williamson premieres Christopher Theofanidis’s clarinet concerto at the CSO

Stephen Williamson © Todd Rosenberg

On a summer day in 2022, Stephen Williamson stood outside with his clarinet in Aspen, Colorado. Surrounded by an endless blue sky, mountains and the sun, Williamson – the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s principal clarinetist – worked through intricate passages of a new concerto. Its composer, Christopher Theofanidis, was there with Williamson, shaping the music in real time. ‘Playing it outside in the fresh air, with the mountains around us, brought a whole new dimension to the sound’, Williamson recalls.

After almost three years of anticipation – due in part to an unexpected health setback – Williamson is finally set to premiere the concerto, Indigo Heaven, which was written specifically for him.

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Pierre Audi introduces the 77th edition of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (4 – 21 July 2025)

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The 77th edition of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence from 4 – 21 July 2025

The metamorphosis of Calisto, the reincarnation of Buddha, the transformation of Louise, the protean Don Giovanni… The focus of the 2025 edition of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (for more information click here) is clearly on the inexorable mutability of all things and the perpetual reinvention of the self. ‘There is nothing in the whole world which is permanent. Everything flows onward; all things are brought into being with a changing nature’ says Ovid in his Metamorphoses; and this is reflected in Cavalli’s La Calisto, which depicts a fascinating continuum between nature, mankind and the gods.

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Opera Holland Park’s 2025 Season opens on 27 May

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Opera Holland Park’s 2025 Season

New productions of two dark Gothic fantasies. The return of an explosive contemporary classic. Sentiment and satire in two co-productions with Scottish Opera and D’Oyly Carte. A succession of significant role and house debuts, a recital series exploring the connections between opera and song, and a revival of a much-loved tragedy of first and last love.

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Lloyd’s Choir premieres Jacques Cohen’s new choral work on 27 March at St Giles Cripplegate Church

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LLOYD’S CHOIR SPRING 2025 CONCERT WILL FEATURE PREMIERE OF NEW WORK BY JACQUES COHEN, COMMEMORATING THE SINKING OF HMT LANCASTRIA DURING WORLD WAR II

Lloyd’s Choir Spring Concert 27 March 2025, 7pm – St Giles Cripplegate Church, Fore Street, London, EC2Y 8DA

Lloyd’s Choir
Cohen Ensemble
Jacques Cohen (conductor and music director)

Mendelssohn – Psalm 114
Jacques Cohen – ‘Lancastria’
Rossini – Stabat Mater

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Puzzling BBC presentations on Holocaust Memorial Day 2025

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Agnes Kory considers the BBC’s programming on Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 Full credit to the BBC for giving its all to commemorate the International Holocaust Memorial Day which on 27th January this year marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Of the many BBC programmes, I attended two and watched one on BBC2. … Read more

Ballet Icons Gala returns on 9 March 2025 at the London Coliseum

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BALLET ICONS GALA IN 2025 WILL BE A MESMERIZING CELEBRATION OF DANCE AND WILL HELP RAISE AWARENESS OF THE GLOBAL ENVIROMENTAL CRISIS

Globally recognized Ballet Icons Gala is set to enchant audiences once again at the London Coliseum on 9 March 2025. A global highlight on the ballet calendar, this much-anticipated event promises an unforgettable evening, celebrating the unparalleled beauty of classical and contemporary ballet.

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