Reviews of Prog Rock, Classical Music, Art Rock and Jazz
Friday 31 July 2026 Band on the Wall, Manchester ★★★★★ Shez Raja and friends bring joy and virtuosity to a life-affirming gig Guthrie Govan (left) and Shez Raja © Mia Scudds Shez Raja is a great communicator. Dressed in his trademark white suit and cap, he bounded on stage at last Friday's gig at Manchester’s …
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Sunday 7 June 2026 University of Wolverhampton at the Halls, Wolverhampton ★★★★ BEAT brings King Crimson's 1980's legacy to joyful life I knew I was in the right place. At a fast food joint before the gig, I saw a man sporting a King Crimson (KC) T-shirt and an extravagant beard. Inside, there were more …
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Tuesday 26 May 2026 The Royal Festival Hall, London ★★★★★ The Bach Choir’s moving and supremely human interpretation marks the 150th anniversary of their first performance of Bach’s masterpiece The Bach Choir © Marc Gascoigne Tuesday night’s concert marked another significant milestone in The Bach Choir’s 150th anniversary season, which opened late last year with …
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Thursday 19 March 2026 Victoria Baths, Manchester ★★★★★ This was not just a concert; it was an immersive experience, taking us from dawn to dusk Image © Adam Critchlow Many contemporary artworks and installations describe themselves as 'immersive'; the word is perhaps overused now. A concert in a former swimming pool (yes, actually in the …
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Friday 13 March 2026 Lowry, Salford ***** A viscerally powerful production of Britten's masterpiece John Findon as Peter Grimes and Philippa Boyle as Ellen Orford. Credit James Glossop In his programme note for Opera North's performance of Peter Grimes at Lowry in Salford on Friday, Andrew Mellor compares the central character in the opera with …
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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 …
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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 …
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Saturday 17 January 2026 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester **** A serene Beethoven piano and two unresolved American orchestral classics from Ives and Adams Alim Beisembayev (at the piano), John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic. Image credit Chris Payne. Saturday evening's concert by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, under their Chief Conductor, John Storgårds, featured two pieces by …
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Thursday 27 November 2025 Stoller Hall, Manchester **** Samantha Fernando's new piece Wintering celebrates winter's withdrawal from daily life Wintering with Samantha Fernando © Mike Skelton On an unseasonably warm winter's night, Manchester Collective returned to their home city for the second leg of their Wintering tour. The ensemble's co-artistic director, Jasmin Kent Rodgman, introduced …
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Saturday 8 November 2025 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester **** Elena Schwarz conducts nature-themed Debussy and Mahler, with the Manchester premiere of Dani Howard's trombone concerto The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Elena Schwarz and trombonist Peter Moore. Photo © Chris Payne Saturday's concert at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester was an exploration of the power of nature, …
Continue reading "BBC Philharmonic Orchestra – Mahler’s ‘Titan’ – Symphony No. 1 – Live Review"