Petite... but a lot of pluck

The trumpet is one of the oldest musical instruments, evolving over many centuries from a rudimentary signalling device to the versatile instrument we know today. This journey has been shaped by the p

When I first heard the classical music of North India, my musical world shifted on its axis. I was in the cinema, watching Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali, which had just opened in the UK and was takin

‘T is the season of jump-scares and of things going bump in the night, when you get to watch as much as you dare of your favourite slasher film, as Michael Myers puts on his mask once again in Hallowe

Echoes of Exile Works by Bartók, Ben-Haim, Enescu, Ysaÿe and Zimmermann Sueye Park (violin) BIS BIS-2332 63:06 mins Turbulence from the Second World War impacts most of the composers on this album. Th

Edge of the Storm Works by Bacewicz, Britten and Weinberg Telegraph Quartet Azica Records ACD-71381 74:08 mins The turbulent, destabilising and demoralising impact of the Second World War hovers uneas

I enjoyed reading Francesco Piemontesi’s Concert Heaven, Concert Hell interview (September) about his ‘best’ and ‘worst’ performance... in the semi-final of the Elisabeth Competition in 2007! In fact,