Halfway through a Lebrecht Interview for the upcoming BBC Radio 3 series, Hilary Hahn took control and demanded: 'But what about you? I want to know what you think musicians should be doing in this situation. You're supposed to be the expert. Where's it all going?' It was an astute interjection, cleverly deflecting my line of questioning from areas where the hard-headed violinist did not want to go and putting the pressure on the interviewer to come up with an instant panacea. Did I pass the … [Read more...]
And the winner is…
May 21, 2009 By
At the Jewish Quarterly's Wingate Book award, which I judged in 2008, last night's winner was a rank outsider. Against a field which included Jackie Wullschlager's outstanding biography of Marc Chagall and Zoe Heller's straight-to-Hollywood novel, The Believers, the prize went to the late Fred Wander for a Holocaust memoir, The Seventh Well. It was the second award bash I attended in three nights and it set me thinking again about the value of small awards against the … [Read more...]
The spirit of a place
May 19, 2009 By
Three years ago I was asked to judge an unusual literary prize, one which became more unusual as the judging progressed. The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize is a £10,000 annual award for 'a distinguished work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry evoking the spirit of a place'. My colleagues and I had little trouble separating the distinguished works from the run of the mill, but when it came down to determining 'the spirit of a place' we found ourselves in an uncharted … [Read more...]
Deconstructing Eurovision
May 17, 2009 By
At the innocent dawn of television in the 1950s, a contest was devised to spotlight national differences in popular music, No-one took it very seriously, except as a way of showing how live broadcasts could be exchanged by landline, and the content provided gentle amusement around the continent as Bavarians popped up slapping leather-clad bottoms, Switzerland supplied an obligatory yodeller and Norway collected a statutory zero, nul points. Over time, competitive … [Read more...]
Recent Comments
richard carlisle on Rub your eyes: a Jewish orchestra has been invited to open the new Wagner Museum
Good news-- thanks for bringing it to us Mr. Lebrecht.richard carlisle on Jackie Evancho sings ‘Ave Maria’ on Dancing with the Stars (video)
CJ, The 1958 youtube of Vissi d'arte seems magnificent to me -- the way she soars to her high range...william osborne on Rub your eyes: a Jewish orchestra has been invited to open the new Wagner Museum
The New Jewish Chamber Philharmonic Dresden has undertaken a wonderful initiative to revive the works of Jewish composers whose careers...cabbagejuice on Natalie Dessay – are we losing her?
@La Cieca I don't know if you're talking about me cherry-picking but if it is, I assure you my knowledge...La Cieca on Natalie Dessay – are we losing her?
My issue here is that a writer's pet theory of "how to sing properly" is backed up with cherry-picked data....Sixtus on Finisher of Mahler’s 10th takes Mahler’s former job
From what I've seen of the Mahler 10 sketches, the work is pretty much actually "finished" in that it has...cabbagejuice on Jackie Evancho sings ‘Ave Maria’ on Dancing with the Stars (video)
@richard carlisle I have the Stassinopoulos and the Michael Scott books on Callas. The Greeks during the war did not...Norman Lebrecht on Auditor General attacks financial chaos at the Arts Council
It's an outstanding spin job by the ACE, burying financial incompetence in a flurry of Whitehall cover-ups. Any other org...Kit Baker on Just in: John Cage sells out on the Ruhr
I was lucky enough to see Europeras I & II in the late '80s at the Summerfare festival in Purchase,...cabbagejuice on Natalie Dessay – are we losing her?
I would beg to avoid getting into disputes about Beverly Sills as her fans are as fiercely protective of her...