Hector Berlioz | News | The Beardscratchers Compendium of Music

’13 Mar 7 Thu

Thursday 7th March

“Marches Madness: Off With His Head!”
In Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, brass snarl and winds shriek like feral beasts in an opium-fueled dream of passion, murder and execution by guillotine.
Read the complete article at www.npr.org

Thursday 24th January

“What pop music owes to the classical masters”
All styles of music feed into each other. Which is why Adele's songs owe everything to Schubert and sampling wouldn't exist without Dvorák
Mozart pleases his public
Read the complete article at www.guardian.co.uk

Wednesday 19th December

“December's best music from across the MAP”
Listen to 39 new tracks from around the world, as chosen by the Guardian and other bloggers in the Music Alliance Pact
Right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 39-track compilation through Ge.tt here.
Read the complete article at www.guardian.co.uk

Monday 29th October

“Jacques Barzun obituary”
Eminent cultural historian whose work touched on literature, philosophy and music
Jacques Barzun, who has died aged 104, was a scholar of encyclopedic knowledge allied to a determination to maintain high standards in any of the fields his work touched on: literature, philosophy, history and music were usually present. Born in France, for more than four decades he was based at Columbia University, New York, mainly in the history department, where he was also a dedicated teacher.
Read the complete article at www.guardian.co.uk

Thursday 26th July

Sunday 1st July

“Les Troyens; Le nozze di Figaro; Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra/Dudamel – review”
Royal Opera House, London; Glyndebourne, east Sussex; Royal Festival Hall, London
Men and supermen, aristocratic women and suicidal Trojan Wags, ancient Carthage, modern Venezuela, a pre-Columbian tropical jungle and a groovy 1960s-style conga: last week had more spectacle than a Charlton Heston retrospective, more geography and climatics than a Met Office weather map. Hannibal made an appearance, as did the Alps, though not, inconsiderately, at the same time. The Simón Bolívars and Gustavo Dudamel stole hearts – yet again; is there any more to say? – and Mozart, Antonio Pappano and Ann Murray, in no particular order, melted them.
Read the complete article at www.guardian.co.uk

Thursday 5th April

“Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique; Overture to Beatrice and Benedict – review”
Scottish CO/Ticciati
(Linn)
Read the complete article at www.guardian.co.uk
“Jonas Kaufmann: the great pretender”
Tenor Jonas Kaufmann has everything: the looks, the voice and the ambition. Now he's coming to London to spread what he calls 'the opera virus'
With his matinee idol looks, unruly dark curls and come-to-bed eyes, he's won the hearts of legions of fans across the world. But now the 42-year-old opera star Jonas Kaufmann – who also happens to possess one of the finest tenor voices of our time – would like to set the record straight: he is not just a handsome face. "As much as you want to give every hair of yourself to this profession, there has to be a difference between you as a performer on stage and you as a private person, and very often now, it happens that those two things are combined, or misinterpreted," he says. "People are getting confused about what is reality and what is opera."
Read the complete article at www.guardian.co.uk

Thursday 29th March

“ONCT/Sokhiev – review”
Hexagon, Reading
The Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse is best known for its extensive and distinguished discography, which includes some of the less familiar works from the French repertoire, particularly operatic. It comes as a surprise, therefore, to discover that the orchestra's current tour marks its UK debut: they're a classy ensemble and should have been heard here before now. Tugan Sokhiev has been music director since 2008, and the partnership is clearly an important one. Despite a few peripheral flaws, this was terrific music-making.
Read the complete article at www.guardian.co.uk

Thursday 23rd February

“Orchestra of the Age of Englightenment/Mark Elder”
Orchestral highlights from Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette
20:45 Live stream starts
Read the complete article at www.guardian.co.uk