Reviews of Prog Rock, Classical Music, Art Rock and Jazz
Friday 5 June 2026 The Royal Albert Hall, London ★★★★★ Kraftwerk's music sounds as fresh and contemporary as ever by guest reviewer Mike Holmes Image © Mike Holmes Between 1975 and June 2026, Kraftwerk have been infrequent visitors to London, with a total of 26 visits in 51 years (I am indebted to the meticulously …
Continue reading "Kraftwerk – the Multimedia Tour – Live Review"
Sunday 8 March 2026 Royal Festival Hall, London ***** A dramatic and deeply devotional performance, part concert, part religious ritual The Bach Choir, London Youth Choir, Florilegium and conductor David Hill © Michael Whitefoot The Bach Choir's 150th Anniversary season, which opened last October with a superb performance of Mahler's Eighth Symphony, was marked on Sunday with Bach's St Matthew …
Continue reading "The Bach Choir – Bach’s St Matthew Passion – Live Review"
Friday 27 February 2026 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester ***** Soprano Ailish Tynan steals the show in a superb semi-staging of Mozart's comic opera Lucy Crowe as Fiordiligi, Ailish Tynan as Despina and Taylor Raven as Dorabella © Matthew Johnson Photographer English National Opera is rapidly establishing a foothold in Manchester, with appearances at the Manchester Classical festival last …
Continue reading "English National Opera – Così fan tutte – Live Review"
Saturday 21 February 2026 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester ***** Love is a fragile thing: superb performances of Albarn Berg, Sergey Prokofiev and Cassandra Miller by Lawrence Power and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Composer Cassandra Miller, Viola Player Lawrence Power and Members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Credit: Chris Payne On The Cure's comeback album Songs of a …
Continue reading "BBC Philharmonic Orchestra – Romeo and Juliet – Live Review"
Saturday 7 February 2026 The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester **** French-tinged minimalism, sparkling Ravel and Rachmaninoff's final orchestral statement Elisabeth Brauß and members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Image © Chris Payne Saturday evening's concert by the BBC Philharmonic was their first under the baton of Adam Hickox. He's the son of Richard Hickox, who died nearly …
Continue reading "BBC Philharmonic Orchestra – Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances – Live Review"
Saturday 24 January 2026 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester ***** An unforgettable exploration of Bartók's psychodrama Jennifer Johnston as Judith, Christopher Purves as Duke Bluebeard and conductor Anja Bihlmaier. Image © Chris Payne It's unusual for one concert in an orchestra's season to follow on from the next, unless they are part of a programmed series, such …
Continue reading "BBC Philharmonic Orchestra – Bluebeard’s Castle – Live Review"
Saturday 1 November 2025 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester ***** Exploring Powerful Women in the Music of John Adams, with Astonishing Playing from Violinist Leila Josefowicz Leila Josefowicz and The Hallé © Sharyn Bellemakers Saturday evening’s concert at the Bridgewater Hall was the closing event of a three-day festival celebrating the work of the contemporary American composer …
Continue reading "The Hallé – John Adams Conducts the Chairman Dances – Live Review"
Friday 25 October 2025 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester A magical musical journey from sorrow to joy ***** A recording of the English composer Edward Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ from his Enigma Variations (1899) introduced Friday night's concert. This felt appropriate in Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, which has often hosted orchestral concerts that have included Elgar’s masterpiece. There’s a quintessentially …
Thursday 9 October 2025 St Paul's Cathedral, London ***** A stunning opening to the Bach Choir’s 150th anniversary season in the most dramatic of settings How do you open the 150th anniversary season of one of Britain’s finest choirs? An announcement from an official at St Paul’s Cathedral welcomed us to the site of Christian …
Sunday 5 October 2025 RNCM, Manchester **** A tribute to the variety of sounds that strings make, and the human connections that music brings Manchester Collective Some concerts are about the music only, the sheer joy of music-making. Others have an external framework, which may be emotional, intellectual, musicolgical, or even spiritual; or a mixture …
Continue reading "Manchester Collective – Shaker Loops – Live Review"